ABC Provided 3-On-1 Debate Ambush Against Donald Trump

ABC News is the story coming out of the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

It started with the questions. 

Voters consider the economy, inflation, and the border the three most important issues heading into November, according to recent CBS News polling. Voters, per the same polling, have more confidence in Trump on all three issues.

Yet the three issues received about the same amount of time on Tuesday night as January 6, climate change and Obamacare – three topics found almost exclusively tethered to the Harris campaign.

Moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis also neglected to ask the candidates about Mark Zuckerberg admitting that the Biden-Harris White House pressured Meta to censor Americans, Brazil's ban on X, the drug epidemic in America, and rapidly rising suicide rates – issues that affect and could affect everyday Americans.

Then came the fact-checking.

The moderators fact-checked Trump five times regarding abortion, crime, and Haitian immigrants. Whether moderators should correct candidates on the spot is subjective. We are fine with ABC's decision to do so. However, Muir and Davis decided to remove their journalism caps while Harris spoke – and lied.

Kamala Harris' lies include the Charlottesville hoax, the bloodbath hoax, claiming Trump supports a national abortion ban, where Trump stands on IVF, and her previous comments about fracking. 

The lies were vivid and easy to debunk. And yet, ABC fact-checked Harris not once.

Both candidates dodged questions. Trump didn't answer if he'd change how he handled Jan. 6. Harris refused to comment on whether she'd support abortion in the 8th and 9th months.

Muir and Davis repeatedly asked Trump for a direct "yes" or "no" response. They applied no such pressure to the vice president.

In June, the CNN moderators did not interrupt Trump or Biden once. Tuesday night, ABC interrupted Trump 11 times. We can find only one instance when Muir interrupted Harris.

That is not a coincidence. That is a concerted effort – a concerted effort to influence the outcome of the debate.

Former US President Donald Trump and US Vice President Kamala Harris are shown on screen in the spin room during the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Photographer: Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images

"This is like a game when an obvious and clear officiating error is the primary story after the game," Clay Travis said on X about the debate. "It’s all that is going to be talked about."

"ABC News is finished. I’ve never seen anything like this. Just allowing Kamala to lie with impunity and debating against Trump."

Accusations of media bias can be overdone. Tonight is not one of those cases.

Chris Wallace lost credibility in 2020 for his handling of the Biden-Trump debate. He should have. But Muir and Davis were far more aggressive and transparent about their intentions than even Wallace.

Put simply, this was a 3-on-1 ambush.

And still, Harris struggled to promote any sense of plan or policy. She didn't explain her recent flip-flopping on the economy and fracking. The vice president, despite a notable advantage, often resorted to her patent smirk and cackle.

In the end, Trump and Harris were predictable. They provided voters with nothing new. They are who they are. 

But it was ABC that reaffirmed to viewers that its days as an objective, credible, and respected news organization are over.