Chris Wallace Grills Bernie Sanders Hours After Republicans Grill Each Other [Video]


Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders went on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace this morning, and it was an explosive interview.

Not only was this Sanders’ first interview with Wallace, but it was his first interview this election season on Fox News.

During the interview, Wallace confronted the self-described “Democratic Socialist” about his his hatred of Wall Street, according to Mediaite.

“Wallace confronted Sanders on everything from accusations that Hillary Clinton is bought off by Wall Street to his claims about income inequality and beliefs on universal health care. Wallace asked at one point, ‘If the wealthy have rigged the system, why have they done such a lousy job of it?’

“He even repeatedly pressed Sanders on his belief in single-payer health care.”

While Chris Wallace got a lot of the same answers from Bernie Sanders on Wall Street and health care, what was a surprise for viewers is when Wallace confronted Sanders about a Fox News-hosted Democratic debate. Believe it or not, Sanders did not rule out such a meeting between the candidates, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

“If we were clear to understand what the guidelines were and what the rules were and to make sure that they were fair and the [Democratic National Committee] was in favor of it, I would have no objection,” Sanders was quoted as saying by the Free Beacon.

For his part, Wallace said openly that he would take that answer as a “maybe,” and he also hit at Sanders’ opponent during the interview.

“Once again this week Clinton turned down our request to speak to us and the millions of you who watch this program,” Wallace reportedly said. “We’ll keep trying for an interview.”

The Chris Wallace interview with Bernie Sanders came just hours after the conclusion of the Republican Debate in South Carolina Saturday night (February 13).

The debate between the candidates a slugfest, more so than in many of the previous matchups — two of which have included Chris Wallace as a moderator.

While billionaire Donald Trump dominated the conversation (as he tends to do), the surprise of the night may be the strong showing from former Florida Jeb Bush. As the New York Times noted, the candidate was forceful against Trump’s attacks and took a solid stand against both the personal and family attacks lodged by his opponent.

Chris Wallace Grills Bernie Sanders Hours After Republicans Grill Each Other [Video]
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (left) and Donald Trump (right) spent much of Saturday night’s (February 13) debate arguing with each other. [Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]
While much of the attention focused on Trump versus Bush and a fight between Rubio and Cruz, one unexpected diversion in the debate focused on New Hampshire’s second place finisher, Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Bush noted the governor’s expansion of Medicaid, a government health plan for the elderly, disabled, and impoverished children, CNN reported. Expanded Medicaid was made possible by Obamacare and is now available in some states for poor adults who are able to work but are not.

“Kasich made his case in moral terms, aligning himself with former President Ronald Reagan, the conservative hero who, the Ohio governor said, ‘expanded Medicaid five times,’ arguing that the government-run insurance program helps poor people transition to productive work.”

Only time will tell if this will be the end of Kasich’s time as the rising star in the Republican primary, but it certainly came out of nowhere and showed that Bush still has some kick in him, even if most have counted him out of this presidential race.

Polls going into the final days of the South Carolina primary show Trump with a commanding lead, followed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, both southerners who many expected to do well once the southern primaries begin in earnest with Super Tuesday on March 1.

[Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]

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