Fox News anchor Chris Wallace has joined the Beltway chorus throwing shade on Dr. Scott Atlas, who has been advising President Donald Trump on the federal government’s pandemic response.
In an discussion, colleague Sandra Smith teed it up by asking Chris Wallace for his opinion about the doctor’s optimism for the president’s possibly quick recovery from COVID.
Wallace is neither an expert on public health nor apparently debate moderation, the latter based his disastrous performance in emceeing the presidential debate on Tuesday night.
But lack of medical credentials didn’t stop Chris Wallace from dismissing Atlas’ claim that the President and his wife Melania will make a rapid and complete recovery from COVID-19.
“Well, I’m gonna say something — and folks, I’m just trying to give you the truth. Dr. Scott Atlas is not an epidemiologist, is not an infectious disease specialist. He has no training in this area at all. There are a number of top people on the president’s coronavirus task force who have had grave concerns about Scott Atlas and his scientific bona fides,” Wallace told Smith.
“I know I’m gonna get a lot of pushback on this. I very much hope what he says is true. One: He can’t know, because the president is just in the earliest stages of this, and two, I understand the desire of the White House and its political people to try to talk this down, and I’m not certainly trying to talk it up, and I pray the president is fine. But again follow the science. Listen to people like Anthony Fauci, people like Deborah Birx, who have been largely cut off. Listen to the independent people who do not have a political axe to grind, and I frankly don’t think Dr. Scott Atlas is one of those people.”
Chris Wallace separately expressed relief the President Debate Commission ruled out the ceremonial handshake between the two candidates. “The debate commission had decided there would be no opening handshake, and thank God for that. They were about eight feet apart from each other at their podiums.”
Wallace added that he was about eight feet away from both men and never got closer than that to President Trump. Joe Biden did approach Wallace at the end of the debate for a brief chat. Wallace noted that he plans to get tested.
Time will tell as to whether the POTUS and the FLOTUS will suffer severe or mild symptoms from the infection. Meanwhile, Wallace got huge pushback on social media about his remarks. Here is just a sample:
