FOX Host Will Moderate Debate as Network Hosts Advise Trump; Drudge's Turn Against Trump on Display
KEILAR: The presidential debates are set and FOX News's Chris Wallace will monitor the first between President Trump and Joe Biden. The debate commission giving the September 29th face-off to FOX despite propaganda, dishonesty, and the fact that some FOX hosts advise President Trump. C-Span's Steve Scully and NBC's Kristen Welker will moderate debates two and three. CNN senior media reporter, Oliver Darcy, is joining me. Oliver, you have a lot of FOX News hosts accused of and, on the other hand, you have Chris Wallace, who has certainly challenged the president on a number of issues. I know those are interviews I have appreciated as he's done them. What do you make of the selection?</s>OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: Chris Wallace is a talented journalist and has asked the president trough questions. He's done a really good job in the past moderating debates. But this is a lot bigger than Chris Wallace. You have to keep in mind they have trafficked in lies. They've made discrediting other news organizations and journalists a core tenant of their programs. You have hosts on the network, who are literally advising the president. So, when Chris Wallace is awarded the first debate by the commission on presidential debates, a nonpartisan group that selects the groups and operates them. It's a slap in the face to the 92 other news organizations and other journalists who have endured venomous attacks because of their insistence on telling the truth no matter how costly it is. Chris Wallace is a great journalist. But when he gets awarded this spot and when FOX News is effectively bolstered by this commission on presidential debates by giving them the first debates, it really -- it doesn't sit well. I think with a lot of people wondering why they're being rewarded when they've caved and pedaled the president's lies on so many occasions.</s>KEILAR: We've seen another influential conservative figure, Matt Drudge, turn against President Trump, even though he supported Trump in 2016. Let's look at some of the headlines from the "Drudge Report." And President Trump took particular exception about one involving his particular visit to Walter Reed last fall. He called it fake news. What does it say when someone like Mike Drudge coming out like this?</s>DARCY: This is a total opposite of what his Web site, Brianna, was doing when he was questioning the Hillary Clinton and needling her. Now, he's needling Trump. Drudge was one of Trump's top supporters in 2016. He navigated him through the he navigated him through the primaries, to the extent Ted Cruz was saying it's a mouthpiece for the Trump campaign. So, to see Drudge now turning on the president is remarkable. Whether it has any effect, I'm not sure. I think it might have a few years ago when they were able to turn news sites towards their preferred narrative. But he's been critical of the president now for over a year. And you haven't really seen other conservative talk show hosts, Web sites really follow the narrative that he's been setting on his own Web site.</s>KEILAR: All right. Oliver, thank you so much for bringing this report to us. We appreciate it. Breaking news. The Dow falling more than 800 points after hitting record highs. Is this a warning sign of what's to come? Plus, a warning from Dr. Anthony Fauci about the coming holiday weekend.