Fox News anchor Chris Wallace slammed the Trump administration on Tuesday evening for turning the White House into a political tool for the Republican party, lamenting that the barrier between the RNC convention and the White House “was completely blown away … for good or for ill.”
The “Fox News Sunday” host also blasted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s remarks at the event, saying it violated standing State Department policy.
“What stands out to me is that about two or three weeks ago, Donald Trump suggested that he might make his acceptance speech at the White House,” Wallace said during Fox News coverage of the convention Tuesday evening. “And there was an uproar in Washington. Republican Senate leaders said, ‘That can’t happen. We can’t have that.’ That barrier was completely blown away tonight, for good or for ill.”
The second night of the GOP convention featured a speech by first lady Melania Trump from the Rose Garden and Pompeo’s pre-recorded remarks from Jerusalem.
Don't Miss
Earlier Tuesday, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, announced an investigation into Pompeo’s speech, citing the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal officials from weighing in on elections in their official capacity, and a breach of State Department regulations.
“We do need to point out that secretaries of State have never participated in political speeches,” Wallace said. “In fact, it’s a regulation of the State Department that nobody that’s in the State Department can attend a political event, let alone participate in it. The State Department said, ‘Well, he’s operating in his personal capacity.’ But I don’t know what personal capacity a secretary of State has.”
“People can think it’s a big deal, they can think that’s a little deal, but all of this has never happened before,” he added. “And it’s worth noting.”
Watch the video below, via Fox News:
Fed Up Chris Wallace Slams Trump, Pompeo For Illegal Use Of White House For RNC Convention. pic.twitter.com/TXbvsg0bke
— Political Dig (@PoliticalDig) August 26, 2020
