The truth that Wallace was so protective about was obviously his version of “the truth.” As we saw with Wallace’s disastrous performance as the mediator for the first Trump-Biden debate in 2020, Wallace clearly has an agenda and one which is not consistent with Fox News’ right-leaning mindset. And it was obvious that this misalignment was a key factor in Wallace’s decision to head to CNN+.
After initial glowing comments about his new company, Wallace’s enthusiasm reportedly began to wane shortly thereafter, and we need not wonder why. CNN is a complete trainwreck, and CNN+ is the caboose. Ratings for the network overall have been horrendous, but the numbers for CNN+ have been even worse.
A buzz throughout the industry began to circulate last month that things had become so bad, with subscriptions to the premium service coming in far below their overly optimistic expectations, that extensive layoffs at CNN+ were imminent. And there’s no doubt that these failures are the driving force behind the apparent seller’s regret that Wallace himself is now experiencing.
According to Jon Nicosia, a reporter at Mediaite:
“Chris Wallace is ‘having daily breakdowns’ over the ‘miserable launch’ of [CNN+]. [Wallace] wants a ‘CNN show or is threatening to walk’ they go on. ‘He is having staffers count how many times a day his promo is playing.’”
As it turns out, Wallace may have become disenchanted with Fox News’ moderate version of conservatism, and he apparently wanted the network to shift to the left. but at least people watch Fox News. Lots of people, in fact. But virtually no one watches CNN, and when they inexplicably decided to try and charge people for content that nobody was watching even when it was free, calamity ensued. And this is inevitability is what makes Wallace’s decision so absurd.
If Wallace decides to jump ship again after a few months, where will he end up? Who knows? But we can rest assured that there will be plenty of leftwing media outlets – which is to say, virtually all media outlets – that will be more than willing to give a dishonest political hack like Wallace a third chance.