‘Thank god’ there was no handshake: Debate moderator Chris Wallace to get tested after Trump diagnosis

Presidential candidates remained distant from each other and moderator during Tuesday’s debate

Chris Wallace admitted he lost control of the first presidential debate and called the chaotic night “a terrible missed opportunity.” (AFP via Getty Images)

Fox News anchor and presidential debate moderator Chris Wallace is thankful that there was no traditional handshake greeting during Tuesday’s presidential debate.

Mr Wallace was speaking on Fox News on Friday morning following president Donald Trump’s positive test for Covid-19 overnight.

“The debate commission had decided there would be no opening handshake, and thank God for that. They were about eight feet apart from each other at their podiums,” he said on America’s Newsroom.

Mr Wallace confirmed that he never got closer to the president than was shown on television on Tuesday night, but said that he was close enough to warrant getting a test.

At Tuesday’s debate, both candidates wore masks backstage but removed them upon taking to the stage.

Former vice president Joe Biden approached the moderator’s desk at the end of the debate for a brief moment, but the president did not.

“Vice president Biden did briefly to basically — I'm trying to remember the exact words, basically to say — I bet you didn't know you had signed up for this,” Mr Wallace said earlier on Friday on Fox & Friends.

“Obviously, it was an extremely contentious debate. I certainly saw no sign of any flagging of energy in the president and the vice president during the debate,” he added.

Mr Wallace also said on Friday: “The president of the United States is in the most secure bubble in the world... and he still got it. So, wear the damn mask!”

The Trump family reportedly declined to wear masks while seated in the debate audience. Melania Trump joined her husband onstage at the end, without a mask, while Jill Biden wore one to congratulate her husband on his performance.

Both the president and first lady tested positive for the coronavirus having been in close contact with the president’s adviser Hope Hicks who had already tested positive.

There is a flurry of testing underway across the political world among those who have met with the president, attended events at the White House, or were present at the debate.

The Trump campaign is under fire for going ahead with a fundraiser in Bedminster, New Jersey, knowing that the president had been exposed to the virus.

Senator Mike Lee and Republican national chair Ronna McDaniel have already tested positive for Covid-19.