Trump nemesis Chris Wallace is quitting his job at CNN to explore the world of podcasting.
It's the latest career shift for Wallace, who quit Fox News after 20 years in protest of the network's coverage of the 2020 election and January 6th.
During his tenure at Fox, the veteran news anchor carried on a feud with President-elect Trump, who accused Wallace of being unfair to him in a presidential debate in 2020.
Wallace joined CNN in 2021 as a host for the short-lived streaming platform, CNN+, before getting his own weekend talk show. The veteran journalist is departing CNN to enter the podcast space after an election that highlighted the decline of the legacy media's influence.
President-elect Donald Trump's victory over Kamala Harris has been attributed partly to his interviews on various podcasts, which enabled Trump to reach young, male voters. Trump mostly shunned left-wing news networks like CBS, which were openly hostile towards him.
Wallace, 77, has worked his entire journalistic career in the legacy media, spending 20 of his years in broadcasting at Fox News. The son of newsman Mike Wallace said he is excited to launch an independent venture in podcasting, where the "action seems to be."
“This is the first time in 55 years I’ve been between jobs,” Wallace told the Daily Beast in an interview. “I am actually excited and liberated by that.”
Wallace noted to the Daily Beast that the election cycle was driven by podcasters like Joe Rogan and Charlamagne the God, but Wallace added, "I don’t flatter myself to think I will have that sort of reach.”
“I have nothing but positive things to say. CNN has been very good to me,” he told the Daily Beast.
Wallace's career move comes as CNN suffers a plunge in ratings that has the network eyeing massive layoffs. CNN reportedly denied raises to top hosts like Jake Tapper and had asked Wallace to accept a pay cut.
CNN wanted to keep Wallace, but he ducked out ahead of talks to renegotiate his $8.5 million contract.
“Chris Wallace is one of the most respected political journalists in the news business with a unique track record across radio, print, broadcast television, cable television and streaming,” CNN CEO and Chairman Mark Thompson said in a statement.
“We want to thank him for the dedication and wisdom he’s brought to all his work at CNN and to wish him the very best for the future.”
