Debate moderator Chris Wallace “agreed” with Trump’s lie that he didn’t hold indoor rallies

Written by Eric Kleefeld

Published

During the presidential debate Tuesday night, moderator and Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace agreed to a false statement by President Donald Trump, when Wallace asked a question about Trump continuing to hold campaign rallies during the coronavirus pandemic.

Wallace began his question: “President Trump, you’re holding large rallies, with crowds packed together, thousands of people —”

“Outside,” Trump interrupted.

“Outside, yes, sir,” Wallace replied. “Agreed.”

In fact, Trump has held multiple indoor rallies in the age of COVID-19, including his infamous rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, back in June, followed by one in the Las Vegas area this month.

From the September 29, 2020, edition of CNN’s First Presidential Debate

One of the attendees at the Tulsa rally, businessman and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, died of the coronavirus a little over a month after the rally. Tulsa World reported that while Trump denied that Cain had contracted the virus at the rally itself, local health authorities did tie the event to further infections in the area:

Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving for a trip to Florida that he didn’t think Cain contracted the virus in Tulsa.

“No, I don’t think he did,” he said.

Bruce Dart, executive director of the Tulsa Health Department, told reporters earlier this month that several large-scale events held in Tulsa, including the Trump rally, contributed to a surge in coronavirus cases.

“So I guess you can connect the dots,” Dart said then.