Trump claims Fox anchor Chris Wallace won’t ask Biden ‘tough questions’ at debate

President Trump on Thursday said he doubted that Chris Wallace would ask Democratic nominee Joe Biden difficult questions during next week’s presidential debate, asserting that the Fox News host is “controlled by the radical left” and that the debate would be “unfair.”

Trump made the comments in an interview on Fox News Radio with host Brian Kilmeade, who swiftly pushed back on the president’s claim that Wallace, a veteran anchor and journalist known for his tough questioning, is beholden to Democratic interests.

“Chris is good, but I would be willing to bet that he won’t ask Biden tough questions. He will ask tough questions of me and it will be unfair, I have no doubt about it,” Trump said. “He will be controlled by the radical left.”

Trump noted that he has “a lot of respect” for Wallace and had a good relationship with the journalist’s father, Mike Wallace.

“Mr. President, I will tell you for sure, he is not controlled by anyone,” Kilmeade countered.

“We’ll see. Then he’s got to ask tough questions of Biden,” Trump said. The president went on to complain about ABC News’s handling of the 2016 presidential debate, claiming that the network grilled him while asking then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton “little powder puff questions.”

Wallace will moderate the first presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday. A list of topics he released this week includes Trump and Biden’s records, the novel coronavirus, the Supreme Court, the economy, race and violence in U.S. cities, and the integrity of the election.

Trump’s remarks on Thursday appeared aimed at lowering expectations for himself during the debate, after he and his campaign have for months sought to paint Biden as confused and mentally unfit to serve as president.

Kilmeade repeatedly asked Trump whether he has an advantage over Biden going into the debate because he sat down with Wallace for an hourlong interview on “Fox News Sunday” in July. But Trump insisted it is Biden who has the advantage, citing his decades of experience in Washington politics.

“No, I think I am the one without experience. I have just been doing this for a few years. He has been doing this for 47 years plus. I mean, he has a tremendous advantageous really, if you think about it, but I have a much better record than he does,” Trump said.