Former Fox News anchor and current CNN host Chris Wallace delivered a scathing assessment of Donald Trump’s address at the Republican National Convention, criticizing it as “rambling” and accusing Trump of failing to deliver on promises of a more unifying tone.
Wallace initially held out hope for a new direction from Trump, noting his early pledge to be a president for all Americans. However, Wallace swiftly noted that Trump could not sustain this facade, instead launching into attacks on his legal challenges, labeling Nancy Pelosi as “crazy,” and making unsubstantiated claims about election fraud.
“The Trump campaign had talked so much about how we were going to see a softer, more reflective Donald Trump,” Wallace said during a CNN panel discussion.
He said he momentarily believed it would be “a different Donald Trump” early on in the address when Trump said, “I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America.”
“It seemed as if he couldn’t keep up the act,” Wallace noted. “And so, we started hearing about ‘crazy Nancy Pelosi’ and cheating on elections and talking about Biden.”
“Frankly, it was a long speech. It was a rambling speech. It was a speech by an older man and I couldn’t help but think that the people that are going to be happiest tonight are not the people at Trump headquarters, but the people, the Democrats, maybe at Biden headquarters,” Wallace said.
Trump’s speech, which exceeded 90 minutes, reportedly underwent revisions following an assassination attempt earlier in the week. Despite assurances of a more measured approach, the address swiftly pivoted to a diatribe against political adversaries.
Wallace expressed disappointment at the missed opportunity for a genuine change in Trump’s approach, stating, “The campaign promoted a softer, more reflective Trump, but instead, we saw more of the same confrontational rhetoric.”
Wallace, along with many other media figures, speculated that the public might witness a softer and more moderate Trump following the assassination attempt on Saturday. This speculation was highlighted by “The Daily Show,” which sarcastically questioned whether the media had once again fallen for ‘Trump’s New Tone.’
No way the media fell for "Trump's New Tone" again, right?? pic.twitter.com/cZAn0cOBO4
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) July 19, 2024
