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Chris Wallace: "I am disappointed for the country"
Photo: POOL / REUTERS
After the TV debate between US President Donald Trump and his challenger Joe Biden, presenter Chris Wallace was disappointed with the result.
"For myself, but more importantly, I am disappointed for the country because it could have been a much more useful evening," Wallace told the New York Times on Wednesday.
The debate had been dominated by personal attacks.
Trump, in particular, had interrupted Biden in the debate, but also Wallace repeatedly.
The TV duel then slipped into chaos.
It was not clear to him "that that would be the president's strategy, not just for the start of the debate, but for the entire debate," said Wallace.
During the duel he thought, "I'm a professional. I've never been through anything like this."
He added, "I never dreamed it would get so out of hand."
When asked what he felt when he asked the candidates to stop interrupting, the moderator replied, "Despair."
Wallace comes from the Trump-friendly Fox News TV channel but is respected as an independent.
Wallace wants to stick to the concept
Wallace spoke out against proposals to allow the moderators to turn off the microphones for the candidates at the next debates.
"In practice, even if his microphone had been turned off, the president could still have interrupted," he said.
Such a step could also have consequences.
"Too many people forget that these two candidates have the support of tens of millions of Americans."
The organizers announced changes to the concept of the TV duels on Wednesday.
The procedure on the previous evening made it clear that "the format of the remaining debates needs additional structure to ensure a more regular discussion of the issues," said the Presidential Debate Commission.
Tuesday night's TV debate in Cleveland, Ohio, was the first between Trump and challenger Biden.
Two more debates are scheduled for October 15 in Miami, Florida and October 22 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Wallace advised the moderators of the next debate - Steve Scully from C-Span and Kristen Welker from NBC - to react faster than he did.
"I didn't have that warning."
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