The women of The View expressed concerns the departure of longtime Fox News anchor Chris Wallace would further radicalize the network.
When moderator Whoopi Goldberg asked her co-hosts to weigh in on the impact of Wallace's exit, they did... and even started to wonder what Fox News should be renamed after losing a veteran newsman who gave the outlet an air of legitimacy.
You can hear their discussion in the video below.
CHRIS WALLACE BIDS FAREWELL TO FOX: Many were surprised to see Fox News anchor Chris Wallace sign off for the final time at the network Sunday after 18 years to go to CNN+ streaming \u2013 the co-hosts and @amandacarpenter discuss how his exit could impact the future of Fox News.pic.twitter.com/7bX34aKrqI— The View (@The View) 1639449000
Joy Behar got the ball rolling with her remarks, opining that Wallace “almost” gave the channel “some legitimacy" during his 18-year tenure:
“You mean QAnon News? We can now call it Trump News. Just call it Trump News... when Chris Wallace was at Fox, he almost gave it some legitimacy, some cover... because he was there, you know?"
"And I think that does a disservice to, you know, other media news outlets that are legit."
Immediately afterward, guest host and CNN contributor Amanda Carpenter, who noted that she has been a "Never Trumper from the beginning," suggested that Wallace “was in a very difficult position at Fox" where he was "clearly uncomfortable" with the decision by the network's high-profile hosts to downplay the January 6 insurrection.
Carpenter added that Wallace's exit is an opportunity for "everyone in the media" to "seriously question who they choose to elevate to their platforms," stressing that Fox News's coverage, which consistently backed the "Big Lie" that the 2020 general election had been stolen, intentionally interfered with "the peaceful transfer of power."
At this point, co-host Sunny Hostin praised Wallace as a consummate newsman, calling him "talented" and "very measured." However, she acknowledged that these same traits likely meant that Wallace was not “well received by a lot of Fox News viewers.”
Noting that Fox News contributors Stephen Hayes and Jonah Goldberg recently resigned from the network in protest over Tucker Carlson’s revisionist January 6 docuseries Patriot Purge, which falsely alleges that the attack was a "false flag" operation orchestrated by the federal government, she offered a name change of her own:
“So to your question, Whoopi, what does it become now? Is it the Tucker Carlson Fake News Network?”
Ultimately, Behar, who accused Fox Corporation owner Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan, who serves as its CEO, of "destroying America," concluded that the network would soon "find another person" to push lies in addition to biased and misleading coverage, saying:
“They will find another person who will fill in the spot who will take millions and millions of dollars and go against his own real-truth politics. You’ll see. People can be bought, left and right.”
Many have concurred with these assessments and have continued to criticize Fox News for its role in spreading the lies that culminated in the January 6 insurrection.
Will @FoxNews now become the @TuckerCarlson show, full of lies?https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-view-asks-if-fox-news-is-now-tucker-carlson-fake-news-network-after-chris-wallace-exit\u00a0\u2026— Weezie Proud Resister (@Weezie Proud Resister) 1639487858
It's been propaganda for years. And yes now the trump world mouth piece. When I grew up broadcasters were required to provide equal time to opposing views - unless reporting the facts. We did away with that paving the way for propaganda - Fox News. A step in destroying democracy.https://twitter.com/TheDemCoalition/status/1470600822824349696\u00a0\u2026— Done With TX (@Done With TX) 1639455722
What do they mean "NOW??" Fox has ALWAYS been the Fox Fake "News" Network!!\n\nhttps://www.thedailybeast.com/the-view-asks-if-fox-news-is-now-tucker-carlson-fake-news-network-after-chris-wallace-exit?source=twitter&via=desktop\u00a0\u2026 via @thedailybeast— OrlandoVonVegas (@OrlandoVonVegas) 1639447582
There now is no true journalist at Fox. Now truly, the inmates are untethered to run the asylum.— William (@William) 1639419807
FOX and other Local Russian Propaganda outlets must be characterized as Propaganda Networks-'The View' hosts discuss the future of Fox News' coverage following Chris Wallace's departure: 'We can now call it Trump News'https://a.msn.com/07/en-us/AARME5v?ocid=winp-st\u00a0\u2026— MiddleclassVote (@MiddleclassVote) 1639500822
Glad that Chris is walking away from the dark side.— RevCarla (@RevCarla) 1639457437
With the departure of Chris Wallace, Faux is becoming even more of a white nationalist propaganda station of the extreme right. Can it get worse? I am confident.https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/the-view-hosts-discuss-the-future-of-fox-news-coverage-following-chris-wallace-s-departure-we-can-now-call-it-trump-news/ar-AARME5v?ocid=msedgntp\u00a0\u2026— Don\u2019t go anywhere. There is work to do (@Don\u2019t go anywhere. There is work to do) 1639584608
\u2066@TheView\u2069 \u2066@FoxNewsSunday\u2069 \u2066@rupertmurdoch\u2069 Fox is no longer a viable American news outlet. It is a Russian asset nowhttps://apple.news/AavWBlviiQ_6nzeJQulq4EQ\u00a0\u2026— CdSmithy (@CdSmithy) 1639427070
Guess has gotten rid of the only being with some semblance of integrity, morality, conscience, who seeks the truth, that acknowledges facts & reality!— AmFil (@AmFil) 1639428827
Wallace has long publicly contradicted the suggestion from former President Donald Trump that the electoral process in the United States is rife with fraud and abuse, including during a particularly infamous segment in 2016, when Trump cast doubt on the election he ultimately won.
During that interview, which aired just three weeks before former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lost her election to Trump, Trump said that he would decline to commit to respecting the result of the election if he lost.
After Trump launched into an unrelated tangent about “media corruption,” Wallace successfully interjected, saying that "one of the prides of this country is the peaceful transition of power and no matter how hard fought a campaign is that at the end of the campaign, that the loser concedes to the winner,"
Earlier this year, Wallace pushed back against the suggestion from former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski that the media was at fault for not lending credence to Trump's conspiracy theories.
At the time, Wallace pointed out that Trump's allegations of election fraud "went to more than 60 different court cases and you were beaten in every one."
"The Supreme Court refused to even hear the Trump challenges, so please don't blame this on the media," Wallace said matter-of-factly. "You had your day in court and you lost."
