Chris Wallace blames Trump for 'awful' debate: 'He bears the primary responsibility for what happened'

Fox News host Chris Wallace on Thursday blamed President Donald Trump for what he admitted was an "awful" debate.

In his first TV appearance following Tuesday night's debate, Wallace noted that Trump had interrupted either Democrat Joe Biden or himself 145 times.

"He bears the primary responsibility for what happened on Tuesday," Wallace said. "At a certain point, 45 minutes in, I called a halt to the debate for a moment and said this really isn't serving America and please stop the interruptions."

Wallace complained that his team had spent "hundreds" of hours preparing for the debate only to have it spoiled by the president.

"I was really hoping for the debate that America wanted to see, which was a serious exchange of views," he recalled. "I felt like I had gotten together all of the ingredients, I had baked this beautiful, delicious cake and then, frankly, the president put his foot in it."

"I guess I thought originally that the president was going to engage in a debate with Biden and let Biden answer," Wallace added. "That was a misapprehension. Then I thought maybe the president is going to do this in the first segment, try to rattle Biden. When that didn't work, I think he would have been well advised to pull back and let Biden talk more."

"And then 45 minutes in, I realized what a total mess and disservice this was," the Fox News host said. "Do I wish I had stepped in earlier? Yes. But as I say, hindsight is 20-20."

Watch the video below from Fox News.