Fox News star Chris Wallace got a warning from President Donald Trump on Sunday that he was on a “bad path” and the network should watch that it doesn’t run afoul of its most loyal viewers.
Trump made the warning in a Tweet after Wallace hosted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
After the interview, critics said Wallace threw softballs to Pelosi — and should have grilled the leading Democrat over her failures during the Wuhan virus pandemic.
Sunday’s interview was Pelosi’s first appearance on Fox News since 2017. She went in response to Trump’s defense of his administration’s testing efforts on Saturday. Trump said during a COVID-19 press briefing that U.S. capacity is “fully sufficient” and his team was eyeing a plan to reopen the economy.
The California lawmaker told Wallace that Trump “gets an F” on his coronavirus planning and testing efforts.
She also claimed, without evidence, that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci’s testing plan “hasn’t been done.”
“Today, Nancy Pelosi is appearing on Fox News Sunday. When the #PaycheckProtectionProgram ran out of funding, she decided playing politics was more important than saving #SmallBiz,” the Republican National Committee’s official Twitter account said. “It is time for the Democrats to be held accountable for putting millions in financial limbo.”
Trump agreed and then implied that Wallace and Fox News were complicit by not mentioning the scandal.
“Nervous Nancy is an inherently ‘dumb’ person. She wasted all of her time on the Impeachment Hoax. She will be overthrown, either by inside or out, just like her last time as ‘Speaker,’” the president replied.
“Wallace & @FoxNews are on a bad path, watch!” he warned.
Nervous Nancy is an inherently “dumb” person. She wasted all of her time on the Impeachment Hoax. She will be overthrown, either by inside or out, just like her last time as “Speaker”. Wallace & @FoxNews are on a bad path, watch! https://t.co/nkEj5YeRjb
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 19, 2020
Trump and his team spent most of the weekend working with Congressional leaders on an aid package of up to $450 billion to boost a small-business loan program that has run out of money and add funds for hospitals and COVID-19 testing.
Trump said there’s a “good chance” of reaching a bipartisan agreement with Democrats.
“We are very close to a deal,” Trump said Sunday at the White House.
Along with the small business boost, Trump said the negotiators were looking at “helping our hospitals,” particularly hard-hit rural health care providers.
The Senate is scheduled for a pro forma session Monday, but no vote has been set.
With small-business owners reeling during a coronavirus outbreak that has shuttered much economic activity, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he was hopeful of a deal that could pass Congress quickly and get the Small Business Administration program back up by midweek.
“I’m hopeful that we can get that done,” Mnuchin said Sunday.
On a conference call Sunday afternoon that included Trump, Mnuchin and Republican senators, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., indicated the only remaining item for discussion involved the money for testing, according to a Senate GOP leadership aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private call.
Mnuchin and McConnell reiterated on the call with senators that money for state and local governments as well as food stamps would not be included in the package, according to the GOP aide.
“The president is willing to consider that in the next bill, but wants to get this over the finish line with a focus on small businesses, hospitals and testing,” Mnuchin said.
RELATED: Nancy Pelosi tried to delete this video — Trump found it
The Associated Press contributed to this article