In an extensive interview with The New York Times, Former Fox News anchor Chris Wallace explained his decision to leave the conservative network last December after 18 years. “Before, I found it was an environment where I could do my job and feel good about my involvement at Fox,” Wallace told media correspondent Michael Grynbaum. “And since November 2020, it has become unsustainable, more and more unsustainable over time.”

Wallace brought a degree of journalistic seriousness to Fox News throughout his tenure. Moderating presidential debates and hosting the network’s flagship political talk show “Fox News Sunday”, he was considered a more middle-of-the-road presence. Especially in contrast to his colleagues, Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, who became more vocal on the right during Donald Trump’s years as president. “I just didn’t feel comfortable with Fox programming anymore,” Wallace said in his interview.

“Some people may have drawn the line earlier, or at a different time,” he acknowledged. “I think Fox has changed over the last year and a half. But I can definitely understand someone saying, ‘Well, you were a slow learner, Chris.’

The 74-year-old presenter didn’t retire from journalism, however, but instead joined rival network CNN, where his new daily talk show, “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” will debut next week. As The temperature Explain :

But Mr. Wallace also acknowledged that he felt a shift at Fox News in the months following Donald J. Trump’s defeat in 2020 – a time when the network ended its 7 p.m. newscast, a fired the political editor who helped project a Trump loss in Arizona on election night and promoted hosts like Mr. Carlson who downplayed the Jan. 6 riot.

He confirmed reports that he was so alarmed by Mr. Carlson’s ‘Patriot Purge’ documentary – which incorrectly suggested the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was a ‘false flag’ operation intended to demonize conservatives – that he complained directly to Fox News management.

Not that it seemed to matter much. “I agree with the opinion: conservative opinion, liberal opinion,” Wallace said. “But when people start questioning the truth, who won the 2020 election? Was January 6 an insurrection? I found this unbearable.