Fox News' Chris Wallace dryly mocks Trump for 'flailing around'

Chris Wallace.
(Image credit: FOX NEWS)

President Trump's wild morning tweets have left Fox News' Chris Wallace fairly baffled.

Wallace appeared on America's Newsroom shortly after the president not only questioned whether the Federal Reserve chair he appointed was an "enemy" of the United States but also claimed American companies "are hereby ordered" to find an "alternative to China." The latter tweet was read to Wallace for the first time live on-air by host Sandra Smith, who — in a vast understatement — informed Wallace that Trump "had moved on to more tweets." Wallace then tried, and mostly failed, to make sense of the "order" issued by Trump.

"The best I can tell, the American president can't order U.S. companies how they're going to do their sales ... we have a free market, capitalist system," Wallace said, suggesting that "most people in this country wouldn't want to see a president be able to" control sales in such a way either.

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Wallace then pivoted back to Trump's earlier tweet that suggested Powell is an enemy of the country, reminding viewers that the alleged antagonist "was appointed by President Trump" himself.

"When you have the president of the United States sort of flailing around this way ... is that going to create more consumer confidence about the state of the economy or not?" Wallace rhetorically asked. Perhaps to push viewers toward the answer, Smith immediately noted that the Dow Jones Industrial Average had taken a plunge amid "the president's tweeting."

Wallace concluded the segment by dryly noting that Trump "clearly isn't responding well" to China announcing retaliatory tariffs and suggested we might be in for a "bumpy" G-7 summit this weekend if his tirade keeps up.

"Hold on to your hats," Wallace suggested. Brendan Morrow

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.