ABC News wasn’t shy in their bias towards Kamala Harris in the most recent presidential debate. They were very obviously trying to give her a boost while also tearing down Donald Trump.
And this ABC News debate moderator was smacked with this ruthless punishment after fact-checking Trump.
ABC’s “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir may have alienated a segment of viewers after the Disney-owned network faced backlash from conservatives during last week’s presidential debate.
Muir, alongside co-moderator Linsey Davis, fact-checked former President Donald Trump five times throughout the debate, but never corrected Vice President Kamala Harris, sparking frustration among conservative viewers.
Critics, including Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called out the moderators for what they viewed as an unfair debate.
In particular, the group demanded a correction after Davis made what they described as an “100% inaccurate” statement about abortion during one of the fact-checks aimed at Trump.
The aftermath seemed to have a measurable effect on Muir’s audience. “World News Tonight” saw its ratings dip, averaging 6.7 million viewers on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday following the debate.
This marked a 12% decline from the show’s 2024 average of 7.6 million viewers. Comparatively, both “CBS Evening News” and “NBC Nightly News” experienced only slight declines in viewership after the debate, though Muir’s broadcast still retained its position as the top-rated evening newscast.
While it’s difficult to pinpoint whether Trump supporters are responsible for the decline, the former president himself didn’t mince words. He sharply criticized ABC, calling the debate “one-sided” and questioning Muir’s impartiality.
“Every one of [Harris’ claims] should have been questioned by David Muir, who I’ve lost a lot of respect for. Everyone’s lost respect for him,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News.
“It was so… one-sided,” Trump added. “It was one against three.”
ABC defenders have pointed to external factors, such as the two-week blackout of Disney-owned stations on DirecTV from Sept. 1-14 due to a carriage dispute.
However, the six weekday episodes of “World News Tonight” leading up to the debate saw only a 3% decline in viewers compared to its year-to-date totals, making the post-debate drop to 12% more significant.
In a post-debate interview, Davis acknowledged that her decision to fact-check Trump was influenced by criticism of the moderators in the CNN debate earlier this year.
During that event, President Biden made several controversial statements that went unchallenged, something Davis said weighed on her. “People were concerned that statements were allowed to just hang and not [be] disputed by the candidate Biden, at the time, or the moderators,” she explained to the Los Angeles Times.
Interestingly, ABC News’ Martha Raddatz later fact-checked Harris on one of her debate remarks.
During the debate, Harris claimed there were “not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world,” a statement that turned out to be false. “Our fact-checkers found that to be false,” Raddatz said on Sunday.
“There are currently 900 U.S. military personnel in Syria, 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq. All have been under regular threat from drones and missiles for months. We also have action in the Red Sea,” Raddatz added. “Also, every single day, the Navy SEALs, Delta Forces special operators can be part of any sort of deadly raid.”
Despite the presence of these facts, neither Muir nor Davis corrected Harris during the debate, missing the opportunity in front of an audience of nearly 70 million viewers.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
