In the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live," cast members took aim at the recent ABC News presidential debate, acknowledging its perceived bias and poking fun at anchor David Muir's appearance.
"Saturday Night Live" kicked off its new season with a cold open skewering ABC News and its anchor David Muir for their "biased" presidential debate earlier in September.
Cast member Andrew Dismukes impersonated Muir with spot-on accuracy, acknowledging the negative feedback surrounding the debate's perceived unfairness.
SNL Mocks ABC News' "Biased" Debate, Calls Out David Muir's "Striking Good Looks
"I had hoped the takeaway of the debate I moderated would be my striking good looks, but unfortunately, it was whether or not I was biased towards the Democrats, which...duh," Dismukes' Muir quipped, drawing laughter from the audience.
ABC News has been heavily criticized for its handling of the debate, with critics alleging that Muir and co-moderator Linsey Davis fact-checked and questioned former President Donald Trump more aggressively than Vice President Kamala Harris.
SNL Mocks ABC News' "Biased" Debate, Calls Out David Muir's "Striking Good Looks
Trump himself has repeatedly attacked Muir and ABC News, accusing them of violating a pre-debate agreement to refrain from fact-checking.
"David Muir of ABC, fake news, when I said that crime is way up in our country, he corrected me, and he corrected me and so much and it was right what I said," Trump stated at a recent press conference. "He didn't correct [Vice President Kamala Harris] one time, and what she said was wrong, absolutely wrong."
SNL Mocks ABC News' "Biased" Debate, Calls Out David Muir's "Striking Good Looks
In its "Weekend Update" segment, "SNL" continued its mockery of the debate. Colin Jost joked that he was "starting to worry that bullet got a little more than just the ear," after playing a clip of Trump claiming he had a better "body" than President Biden.
Dismukes' portrayal of Muir also took aim at his physical attributes, particularly his "striking good looks."
SNL Mocks ABC News' "Biased" Debate, Calls Out David Muir's "Striking Good Looks
"Where the hell is everyone going? Where are you going? I see you trying to leave, but the doors are locked. Come on back — we’re having fun. We love my rallies, except when someone does the ‘bing, bong, bing, bing, bing’ right at me," Dismukes' Trump remarked. "You know that happened because of the rhetoric of the radical left. They say that me blaming the Democrats for inciting violence is the pot calling the kettle black, but frankly, I didn't know the kettle was black until very recently. I thought the kettle was Indian but then decided to turn black."
ABC News has yet to respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on "SNL's" cold open and Trump's accusations.
"SNL's" mocking of the ABC News debate underscores the public's growing dissatisfaction with perceived media bias. The show's comedic approach provides a lighthearted way to address a serious issue that has significant implications for political discourse and public opinion.
