What happened when former Vice President Joe Biden formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night didn’t surprise experts.
But what happened after at Fox News studios was surprising.
Three top stars at the traditionally conservative mainstream news outlet went out of their way to praise Biden’s speech.
Was it another subtle dig at President Donald Trump from the network, after a strained relationship in recent months?
Biden used his 25-minute formal acceptance to read a speech from a teleprompter that attacked Trump. Biden claimed that the White House administration has brought “darkness” to the United States — and that Biden would restore “light” to the country.
Critics said the media’s praise of Biden’s speech set the bar too low. He was reading from a pre-practiced script from a teleprompter, they said, not speaking off-the-cuff.
That didn’t stop Fox News’ Chris Wallace from heaping praise on Biden. During Fox News’ special coverage of the Democratic National Convention, he called Biden’s speech “enormously effective” — one that “blew a hole” in the Trump campaigns “Sleepy Joe” attacks.
“Remember, Donald Trump has been talking for months about Joe Biden as mentally shot, a captive of the left. And yes, Biden was reading from the teleprompter and a prepared speech, but I thought that he blew a hole, a big hole, in that characterization,” Wallace said. “It seems to me that after tonight, Donald Trump will have to run against a candidate, not a caricature.”
Wallace is considered one of the more liberal Fox News stars — but he wasn’t the only network host to heap praise on the Democratic presidential candidate.
“The Daily Briefing” host Dana Perino, a former White House press secretary under George W. Bush, heaped praise on the former vice president.
She called Biden’s speech a “home run in the bottom of the ninth” that “had pace, rhythm, energy, emotion, and delivery.”
“I think if he looks back, he could say that’s probably the best speech of his life,” Perino told her audience. “He just took the moment.”
And Perino was joined by former Republican strategist Karl Rove, who agreed. Rove called it a “very good” speech that challenged the Trump campaign’s narrative on Biden.
Of course, not everyone praised Biden’s performance. Notably, critics pointed out that the Democratic presidential candidate stumbled over words and mispronounced things during the 25-minute address.
Conservative activist Ryan Saavedra said the “bar could not be lower for Biden” if all he had to do to earn praise from the media was read from a teleprompter.
The bar could not be lower for Biden. He completed his sentences reading off of a teleprompter a speech that he probably practiced reading
The fact that he hides from reporters and won't do live interviews where he is asked hard questions is a red flag something is wrong https://t.co/KTe3NAfW71
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) August 21, 2020
Trump’s campaign also hit back.
The White House’s Director of Press Communications Erin Perrine said reading from a teleprompter is easy, not something that the media should praise.
Debating Trump on stage without a script in front of him would prove Biden is confused and not capable of the nation’s highest office, Perrine said.
We've seen all campaign long that Biden reads words his handlers put on a teleprompter that the radical left dictates.
But Biden is going to have to start answering unscripted questions from reporters and voters, and from President Donald J. Trump on the debate stage.
— Erin Perrine (@ErinMPerrine) August 21, 2020
You can watch Biden’s speech for yourself below.