FOX News Channel (FNC) will present a town hall with 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, IN on Sunday, January 26th, announced Jay Wallace, president and executive editor of FOX News Media. Moderated by FOX News Sunday’s Chris Wallace, FNC’s first town hall of 2020 will take place live at 7PM/ET in Des Moines, IA and focus on the top issues facing voters one week prior to the Iowa caucuses.
In making the announcement, Wallace said, “We are pleased to host Mayor Buttigieg for the second time this election cycle for a timely town hall in the influential state of Iowa. Once again, we are looking forward to providing our millions of viewers with an insightful discussion ahead of the first major contest of the primary season.”
This marks the seventh town hall event of the current election season hosted by FNC and will be the sixth with a Democratic presidential candidate. Most recently, Special Report’s Bret Baier and The Story’s Martha MacCallum held a town hall with former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and former HUD Secretary Julián Castro, which garnered 1.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. Additionally, the network hosted town halls with 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and former candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). FNC’s town hall with 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in April remains the highest-rated town hall of any candidate this cycle in total viewership, with 2.5 million viewers.
The Buttigieg town hall will be moderator Chris Wallace’s third of the season. During his tenure at FNC, Wallace has participated in coverage of nearly every major political event and has played an integral role in the network’s election coverage since 2004. Most notably, Wallace was the first journalist from FNC to moderate a general election presidential debate, which took place at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in October 2016. He received praise from both sides of the aisle for his tough questioning of then presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton at the third and final debate leading up to the election.
As anchor of FOX News Sunday, Wallace joined the network in 2003 and is based in Washington, D.C. With more than 55 years of experience in broadcasting, Wallace has secured several high-profile interviews with dignitaries and U.S. leaders including: an Emmy-nominated and widely-praised sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Helsinki Summit in 2018; an exclusive interview with French President Emmanuel Macron; the first interview with President Donald Trump after he was elected in 2016; an interview with then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and an exclusive interview with then-President Barack Obama in 2016.
FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service delivering breaking news as well as political and business news. The number one network in cable, FNC is a unit of FOX News Media and has been the most watched television news channel for more than 17 consecutive years. According to a 2019 Suffolk University poll, FOX News is the most trusted source for television news or commentary in the country, while a 2019 Brand Keys Emotion Engagement Brand Analysis survey found that FOX News was the most trusted cable news brand. A 2019 Morning Consult poll reported FOX News as the most-watched cable channel among independents in the county. Owned by FOX Corporation, FNC is available in nearly 90 million homes and dominates the cable news landscape, routinely notching the top ten programs in the genre.