ABC News showed their true colors during the presidential debate the other night. Their bias towards Kamala Harris couldn’t have been more evident.
And the alarming truth about the Trump/Harris debate moderators has finally been exposed.
A newly released media analysis highlights significant differences in how ABC News covered the two major presidential candidates on its flagship nightly program.
The study, conducted by the Media Research Center, reveals stark contrasts in the way ABC’s “World News Tonight”—anchored by David Muir, one of the moderators for the recent presidential debate—treated Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
According to the study, Muir’s program offered overwhelmingly favorable coverage to Harris, with analysts finding that she received 100% positive press since announcing her candidacy. In contrast, the analysis showed that Trump was subject to 93% negative coverage, a stark imbalance in media treatment.
The researchers examined all of the program’s campaign-related stories from July 21 through the end of last week, documenting a total of “25 clearly positive statements about Harris from reporters, anchors, voters, or other non-partisan sources, with zero negative statements — none.” This led to what they described as a “gravity-defying 100% positive spin score for the Vice President.”
In Trump’s case, the study found that “just five clearly positive comments” were made about the former president, compared to “66 negative statements,” leading to a mere 7% positive spin in the overall coverage.
The study took care to exclude partisan comments and references to polling data, ensuring that the negative commentary directed at Trump came solely from reporters, anchors, or individuals identified as “non-partisan sources.”
The bias wasn’t limited to ABC. The Media Research Center found similar patterns in coverage on other major networks. CBS’s “Evening News” provided Harris with 94% positive coverage, while giving Trump 77% negative spin.
NBC’s “Nightly News” showed Harris in a positive light 71% of the time, while 86% of Trump’s coverage was negative.
The report also pointed out that Muir’s show never referred to Harris as “liberal” or “progressive,” terms that both CBS and NBC occasionally used. Furthermore, “World News Tonight” failed to feature voters who opposed Harris—a viewpoint that both CBS and NBC at least acknowledged.
Controversies surrounding Harris were also notably absent from ABC’s coverage. For instance, no mention was made of her husband, Doug Emhoff, and negative allegations about his first marriage. However, the program did not hesitate to highlight controversies involving Trump, scrutinizing nearly every one of his actions.
Muir’s co-moderator for the debate, Linsey Davis, faced criticism for her attempt to link Trump to the Ku Klux Klan.
Last month, while speaking with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer during the Democratic National Convention, Davis suggested that Trump was associated with the KKK simply because he planned to campaign in Howell, Michigan—a town where a fringe group of KKK supporters had marched.
“As you know, former President Donald Trump is expected to go campaign in Howell, Michigan, tomorrow,” Davis said to Whitmer. “Many people are aware that a month ago, in Howell, KKK protesters marched in the streets with the white robes on and suggested that they support Donald Trump.”
“I’m curious if you make anything about that connection and him going in particular to Howell tomorrow,” Davis added.
The suggestion that Trump’s visit to Howell was in any way connected to the KKK emphasizes the concerns Trump and his supporters have raised about ABC News’ bias.
With such significant disparities in coverage, those concerns were quickly validated as both Muir and Davis were quick to fact-check Donald Trump during the debate while at the same time let Kamala Harris off the hook when she lied or didn’t simply answer a question.
"I'm disgusted. I'm ashamed of those moderators at ABC News. They did exactly what their bosses wanted...It was 3 against 1. It's very easy to look like you know what you're doing when both moderators are entirely on your side."
— The Megyn Kelly Show (@MegynKellyShow) September 11, 2024
- @MegynKelly
FULL: https://t.co/6p1OW2Pu1R pic.twitter.com/KK12ZJpFOt
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