National

Moderator Chris Wallace controlled the final presidential debate

By Alex Daugherty

adaugherty@mcclatchydc.com

October 20, 2016 09:43 AM

Moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News looks back at the audience before the third presidential debate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016. John Locher AP
WASHINGTON

The talking heads ahead of the final presidential debate opined that neither candidate would say much in the way of substance, sticking to their talking points as the campaign reaches its final weeks.

But moderator and Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace won overwhelming praise for making both candidates talk about the issues.

Wallace chose to ignore recent headlines for the first question of the debate and asked about an issue that could determine the path of the country: the Supreme Court.

“First of all, where do you want to see the court take the country?” Wallace asked. “And secondly, what’s your view on how the Constitution should be interpreted? Do the founders’ words mean what they say or is it a living document to be applied flexibly, according to changing circumstances?”

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He then went into issues like abortion and gun control, particularly pushing Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton on policy positions that do not resonate with large swaths of the electorate.

“Secretary Clinton, you said last year, and let me quote: ‘The Supreme Court is wrong on the Second Amendment.’ And now, in fact, in the 2008 Heller case the court ruled that there is a constitutional right to bear arms, but a right that is reasonably limited. Those were the words of the judge Antonin Scalia, who wrote the decision. What’s wrong with that?”

Clinton went on to say that allowing handguns in Washington is dangerous for toddlers and that 33,000 people every year die from guns.

But Wallace didn’t let Donald Trump off the hook: He fact-checked the Republican nominee twice on Wednesday night.

“Mr. Trump, in the last debate you were both asked about the situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo, and I want to follow up on that because you said several things in that debate which were not true, sir,” Wallace said. “You said that Aleppo has basically fallen.”

Wednesday was the first time a Fox News anchor had moderated a general election debate, and commentators from both sides of the aisle praised Wallace.

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