Chris Wallace and Trump campaign adviser lock horns over first family not wearing masks at the debate



The ill feelings between Chris Wallace and the Trump campaign continued to simmer on Sunday, even though the presidential debate happened nearly a week ago. Wallace butted heads with Steve Cortes, a senior adviser for the Trump campaign, during an interview on "Fox News Sunday."

Wallace pressed Cortes on why the first family were not wearing face masks at the first presidential debate, which Wallace moderated. Wallace asked Cortes, "Do they think that the health and safety rules for everybody else do not apply to them?"

Cortes responded, "Everybody was tested before that event, as you well know."

He continued, "Those of us who went first were tested by Cleveland Clinic directly. Everybody who gets on Air Force One for any trip on Air Force One is tested before they get on."

A feisty Wallace retorted, "It doesn't matter. Everybody that was in that room was tested. Steve, everybody that was in that room was tested and the Cleveland Clinic's regulation was it didn't matter. Everybody except for the three of us on the stage was to wear a mask and people from the Cleveland Clinic came over and offered the first family masks thinking maybe they didn't have them. They were waved away and the commission on presidential debates has issued a statement saying from now on if you don't wear a mask, you're going to be escorted from the hall."

"Everybody was tested beforehand – no, I'm going to finish my question," Wallace continued. "Everybody was told to wear a mask. Why did the first family and the chief of staff feel that the rules for everybody else didn't apply to them?"

Cortes said, "We believe in masks that masks are very useful, the president has worn them on many occasions, including visiting the hospital where he is now a patient, when he was visiting as commander in chief as a guest to visit soldiers there he wore a mask."

During the testy exchange, the Trump campaign adviser noted, "We also believe in some element of individual choice, people were distanced and they had been tested."

Wallace argued that the president's family didn't practice social distancing, claiming that "they broke the rules" set by the Cleveland Clinic.

Cortes then referenced the presidential debate, by saying, "Chris, the way you're starting to harangue me now actually reminds me of what you did to the president during the debate on Tuesday night."

He said that Trump "had to debate not just Joe Biden, but you as well," adding, "You were not a neutral moderator then."

Cortes continued, "People can make reasonable decisions for themselves."

A vexed Wallace replied, "Let me simply say the president interrupted me and the vice president 145 times, so I object to saying I harangued the president. I know it's the talking point."

Last week, Wallace responded to criticism about the way he handled the presidential debate by saying that Trump destroyed his plans for a "substantive" conversation.

"Literally, hundreds of man hours and woman hours between me and my researcher went in to try to prepare a substantive debate and on so many issues — Biden's tax and spending plans, Trump's climate and environmental policies," Wallace said. "You know, I was really hoping for the debate that I think America wanted to see, which was a serious exchange of views."

Brutal assault of bartender caught on video over alleged mask dispute at San Diego bar



A bartender received extensive injuries after trying to de-escalate a dispute over face masks at a bar in San Diego, and the assault was caught on security video.

Tony Aversa told KTTV-TV that the dispute arose when a group who weren't wearing masks grew angry that they weren't allowed to enter the 710 Beach Club in Pacific Beach over the Labor Day weekend.

The doorman refused them entry because they violated the city's face mask restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Aversa, who is also a manager of the bar, went over to help the doorman when someone ran at him and sucker punched him.

"I immediately knew my nose was broken," Aversa told KTTV.

"I could hear it pop," he added. "I kind of went black for a second. I immediately felt blood gushing out of my nose all over the cement, all over my hands."

Bystanders said that the assailant got into a car and fled after the assault.

Aversa went to the emergency room over his injuries, which included a collapsed nasal cavity, a broken nose and broken sinus cavity in his cheek. He will need surgery and will likely miss work for at least a month during recovery.

He also worries about the safety of returning to his job.

"Definitely now is something that is always going to be on my mind," Aversa said.

"I've been in the bar industry for almost a decade at this point," he added, "and I've seen plenty of bar fights, stuff like that, but as far as a clean completely unknowing sucker punch, that is the first time something like that has happened to me."

He claims that aggressive incidents about the face mask regulations have increased as time goes on.

"As people have gotten comfortable feeling normal again," he said, "they've started pushing boundaries and challenging rules and I feel like the amount of incidents, complaints and unruly customers kept growing and growing and growing as we've been open longer."

Police are looking for the man they describe as 6-foot-2, weighting 260 pounds with curly brown hair. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up for donations to help Aversa with his medical expenses.

Here's the local news report on the assault:

Pacific Beach bartender says he was assaulted for asking customer to wear maskwww.youtube.com