Story and Photos by Pat Krause
The Final speaker for Desert Town Hall was Chris Wallace on March 28th. Desert Town Hall has had some fantastic speakers again this year. Michael Hayden and John Scarlett on Jan. 19th, Mark Kelley and Gabby Gifford on Feb. 23rd and that beautiful Caroline Kennedy on March 8th. That is an excellent lineup for any event. Each event starts with a Desert Youth Town Hall where local high school kids get to ask the question of the speaker. The fact is presented by the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation. Quinton Egson from Boys and Girls Club spoke to the students before Chris Wallace talking and said the best thing he learned was to love everyone regardless of color or creed.
Chris Wallace spoke to over 100 kids from all the local high schools. They are served a meal and told to ask candid and thought out questions. Chris Wallace is the host of Fox News Sunday and the son of veteran newsman Mike Wallace. Kids asked Wallace what he would do if he were not a journalist. He answered, it was the only thing he wanted to do and was good at. He said he was not very good at anything else and that brought laughter from the kids. Wallace said that he was not able to ask these intelligent questions at their age. He remarked that most of the issues were excellent ones. He told the kids they should embrace the wave of the future and not the past. He said he was proud of today’s children that are taking part in the political process. He noted that today kids should stay involved to make a difference. It was up to the kids to decide what to believe, not what they see or hear but to make up their own mind intelligently.
Wallace then went to the Emerald Ballroom at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa for his remarks to a sold-out audience. This Speakers Series is always sold out. Wallace spoke to the crowd for about 40 minutes. He said his father was a reporter of the people and was a great role model. He made remarks for and against the political process and what is going on with the media. He commented on the President and his tweets and how the press is going after him. He said he felt like a cub reporter most of the time as things change in minutes.He ended with saying he thinks President Trump has done a Hell of a job. He said for all the sound and fury the President has been very successful so far.
Brian Harnik moderated the Q&A with questions written by the audience. Wallace said the FBI tried to exonerate Hillary Clinton and there is no hard evidence of Russian meddling. When he mentioned Nancy Pelosi the whole crowd Booed. He was asked who would be a front-runner in 2020, but Wallace didn’t really have any names that stand out at this time. He said he was so worried as a moderator for the debates but after a few minutes would not want to be anywhere else. He hopes that in the discussions for 2020 he will be asked to do it again. He feels Fox News is fundamentally Fair and Balanced. Fake news is an enemy of the people, and all reporters should live up to their responsibility to report the news accurately.
