Chris Wallace says Trump ‘lost the presidency’ in 2020 debate

Chris Wallace, the moderator of the only debate between President Biden and President Trump in 2020, said he lost the presidency because of his performance that night.

Biden and Trump will face off in a debate moderated by CNN in Atlanta on Thursday.

“I actually believe it was one of the most consequential presidential debates in history,” Wallace said Wednesday on CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins.” “I actually believe that Donald Trump’s performance in that debate lost him the presidency. He lost about 4 or 5 points. He was never able to win it back.”

Wallace, who worked at Fox News in 2020, is now an anchor at CNN.

Wallace added that the “key question” for Thursday’s debate was: “Has he learned his lesson?”

During the 2020 presidential debate, Trump interrupted Biden and Wallace dozens of times.

“We had someone count,” Wallace said. “He interrupted Joe Biden or me 145 times in 90 minutes. … If he does that, I think it would be a huge mistake and he will pay a price for it.”

The 2020 presidential debate was a heated exchange, with each candidate calling the other a liar, and Biden at one point saying, “Shut up, man?” and adding, “That’s so unpresidential.”

Trump and Wallace also clashed at one point during the debate.

“Mr. President, I am the moderator of this debate and I would like to ask you to ask me my question,” Wallace said.

“I guess I’m debating with you, not him,” Trump replied.

After the 2020 debate, Jake Tapper, moderator of CNN’s “State of the Union,” called Thursday’s debate “a hot mess in a dumpster fire in a train wreck. That was the worst debate I’ve ever seen. Actually, it wasn’t even a debate; it was a disgrace.”

Ahead of Thursday’s debate, political strategists are waiting to see what version of Trump will emerge, with some saying he needs to exercise restraint.

At a rally in Philadelphia last week, Trump asked his supporters whether he should be “tough or mean” or “nice and calm” during the debate.

Trump has also escalated tensions in recent days with the CNN moderators moderating this year’s debate.

CNN anchor Kasie Hunt interrupted Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt after she repeatedly attacked CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.

“I would be surprised if he didn’t attack the media, the negotiators and the rules from the stage,” said CNN political commentator Jamal Simmons, former communications director for Vice President Harris.

Trump is ahead in the polls. The national average, as calculated by The Hill and Decision Desk HQ, puts the former president ahead by 1.2 percentage points.

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