‘Maybe This Isn’t Really Goodbye’ Chris Wallace Exits CNN Show with ‘Best Of’ Montage Including Swiftie Bracelet and Snoopy Dance
Chris Wallace bid farewell to The Chris Wallace Show on Saturday as he exits CNN to pursue opportunities in new media.
The Chris Wallace Show premiered in November 2023 on CNN, and the veteran journalist also hosts Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? on Max. He announced earlier this week he’s leaving CNN at the end of his contract, but will appear on the network until the end of the year.
Wallace ended the final episode of the popular panel discussion show by playing a “Best Of” montage of moments from across the series and asking his regular panelists for their final, parting thoughts.
The montage included fun or memorable moments from the show, including Kara Swisher in a VR headset, Wallace showing off his Swifties bracelet, Reihan Salam doing the Snoopy dance from Charlie Brown, and Salam being gifted Uno merchandise after he admitted on air he’d never played the Mattel card game.
Wallace asked his frequent panelists like Salam, Lulu Garcia-Navarro, and Kristen Soltis Anderson what their best memories are from the series.
Salam said the conversations and debates he’s with his mother after she watched episodes was his best memory and takeaway.
“Besides having a lot of fun with you all? I’ve really loved debriefing about the show with my mother, who is the most passionate, smart news consumer I know. And we would bond and argue over everyone’s takes. And it was a huge, huge pleasure and delight,” he said.
Garcia-Navarro praised her fellow panelists, including Swisher, who was not on the last show but has been one of the regular panelist. CNN and Bloomberg contributor Nia-Malika Henderson sat in for Swisher on Saturdays finale.
“I loved having Kara Swisher as my wing person. I loved sharpening my arguments with my hand and arguing with my hand. And I love you, Kristen, you are one of the smartest political minds, but you will never make me like sports,” she said.
“I loved preparing for the show every week. It forced me to think about the important issues, even ones outside of my normal zone. But the things I’ll regret the most as I never did get that Ferrari,” Anderson added, referring to mentioning she had never driven a Ferrari after Salam was gifted Uno for never playing.
Wallace called Anderson the “biggest surprise,” praising her knowledge on diverse topics.
Wallace then bid farewell to CNN viewers and reiterated his intention to jump into “new media” where he can have “more agency.”
Wallace said:
“Finally, it’s time to say goodbye. I’ve treasured spending Saturday mornings with you. When I came up with the idea for this program, I thought it would be useful to have an intelligent, generally respectful conversation about all manner of subjects with smart people coming from different perspectives, mostly politics and policy, but also intriguing cultural issues and fun topics ranging from Taylor Swift’s latest album to the merits of fake Christmas trees. Lulu is still wrong about that. In the year-plus we’ve been on the air, many of you have written to say how much you enjoy our discussions. That’s what this is all about. Just as important, all of us on the panel have become friends, sharing stories about our families and remedies when one of those houses scratchy throat. And I’m so grateful to the talented staff that has put the show together, producing the set up pieces, creating clever graphics, and coming up with some of the best ideas for topics. But in today’s media world, the one constant is change. For years, I’ve been wanting to explore new media where you can have more agency over what you’re doing and engage in a more intimate conversation. So maybe this isn’t really goodbye. Let’s just say until next time.”
Watch above via CNN.
