Former President Donald Trump criticized ABC News for its handling of the presidential debate, accusing it of being "rigged" and unfairly targeting him with fact-checks while giving Vice President Kamala Harris a free pass.
Former President Donald Trump has condemned ABC News for what he perceived as a "rigged" presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, asserting that he was heavily scrutinized while Harris received favorable treatment.
During an appearance on "FOX & Friends," Trump assailed ABC, singling out co-moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis for fact-checking only his statements and failing to hold Harris accountable for her inaccurate claims.
Trump Calls ABC's Presidential Debate "Rigged," Alleges Bias against Him
"They were correcting everything and not correcting with her," Trump lamented. "I knew it, the winner was 100% good coverage for her over the last month or last year. Only bad coverage of me no matter what."
The ABC Presidential Debate witnessed a stark imbalance in the number of fact-checks. Muir and Davis interrupted Trump five times during the 90-minute event, while Harris avoided any such scrutiny.
Trump Calls ABC's Presidential Debate "Rigged," Alleges Bias against Him
Furthermore, Trump felt that the questions directed at him were significantly more challenging than those posed to Harris. Political commentators concurred, suggesting that Trump faced a steeper level of interrogation.
"So many things I said were debunked, totally debunked, like Charlottesville," Trump declared. "And she could say anything she wanted."
Trump Calls ABC's Presidential Debate "Rigged," Alleges Bias against Him
Trump excoriated ABC as "the most dishonest news organization, and that's saying a lot." He cited the network's failure to correct Harris's assertion that he had labeled neo-Nazis as "very fine people" during the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally in 2017.
"I have a list of seven different things," Trump asserted. "They'd correct you. I thought it was terrible from the standpoint of ABC."
Critics of Trump have maintained that he referred to neo-Nazis as "very fine people," but a left-leaning fact-checking website acknowledged earlier this year that this claim is inaccurate.
Trump's comments about Charlottesville were made in reference to protesters opposing the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue. He explicitly stated that he excluded neo-Nazis and white nationalists from his remarks, groups he condemned in no uncertain terms.
Trump acknowledged that the debate moderators had "lost a lot of credibility" and declared that he believed it was one of his strongest performances. His assessment was supported by Fox News' Brian Flood.
The allegations of bias against ABC have sparked calls for a more impartial approach to future debates. Fox News Media has proposed a second Harris-Trump debate moderated by Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier, a proposal that has been met with mixed reactions.
The controversy surrounding the ABC debate underscores the ongoing debate about media objectivity and its role in political discourse. Trump's accusations, while not unfounded, highlight the challenges news organizations face in navigating the polarized landscape of modern politics.
