ABC News Turns Debate Into One-Sided Show Trial Against Trump
During a recent debate aired on ABC News, millions of viewers expected a typical presidential forum but instead witnessed what Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, characterized as a “one-sided show trial.” Hosts David Muir and Linsey Davis were criticized for allowing Vice President Kamala Harris to evade accountability for pressing issues such as the border crisis, inflation, and rising gas prices, while relentlessly questioning former President Donald Trump about the January 6 Capitol events.
The debate focused primarily on Trump’s actions rather than Harris’s policies. Muir pressed Trump on whether he regretted his actions on January 6, while neglecting to question Harris about her controversial support for a fund that assisted protestors during the 2020 riots. Critics noted that Muir and Davis fact-checked Trump aggressively, yet let Harris make misleading statements go unchallenged, including false claims about Trump’s remarks regarding the Charlottesville protests and late-term abortions.
the debate has been described as an exercise in election interference, where Trump was put on defensive and Harris was allowed to dodge scrutiny for her record and statements. Observers felt that the format and questioning did not live up to the expected standards of a balanced political discussion, leading to calls for more equitable treatment of both candidates.
Millions of Americans tuned in to ABC News on Tuesday for what was supposed to be the first presidential debate of the election. Instead, they witnessed a one-sided show trial where ABC News served as the judge, jury, and executioner, as pointed out by Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk on X.
ABC News’ David Muir and Linsey Davis spent 90 minutes running election interference for Vice President Kamala Harris by ambushing former President Donald Trump. Rather than addressing soaring inflation, rising gas prices, fake job numbers, and the deadly border crisis, the Bobbsey Twins decided to focus on platitudes while Harris got away with murder — yes, murder.
Not once did Harris have to answer for her border crisis that has left innocent Americans brutally raped and murdered, but then again, she wasn’t the one on trial, Trump was.
Muir tried, for example, to pin Jan. 6 on Trump but conveniently omitted that Trump clearly called for a “peaceful” protest that day.
“Is there anything you regret about what you did on [Jan. 6]?” Muir asked.
Trump was once again put on the defense and forced to spend precious time setting the record straight: All he “did” was give a speech urging supporters to “peacefully and patriotically” “make [their] voices heard.”
But Muir decided Trump’s answer wasn’t yet satisfactory, perhaps because Trump hadn’t said anything that the propaganda press could later use to vilify him.
“It’s a very simple question as we move forward toward another election,” Muir said during his cross-examination. “Is there anything you regret about what you did on that day? Yes or no?”
But if Muir actually cared about “officers coming under attack,” he would have grilled Harris about her support for a fund that bailed out violent protesters during the deadly 2020 riots. Instead, Muir exploited the Jan. 6 protest (during which a Capitol police officer killed Trump-supporter Ashli Babbitt) as an opportunity to toss Harris easy questions to answer while dodging accountability for her disastrous policies and years in office.
Muir and Linsey also spent the night slamming Trump with bogus fact-checks while letting Harris spew already-debunked falsehoods.
“Let’s remember Charlottesville, where there was a mob of people carrying tiki torches, spewing anti-Semitic hate, and what did the president then, at the time say?” Harris asked, claiming that former president Trump said “‘There were fine people on each side’,” Harris said. Here, she once again, as Biden did in his disastrous debate performance weeks ago, “repeat[ed] a long-debunked claim regarding Trump’s remarks,” as The Federalist previously reported. She also falsely claimed Trump said there would be a “bloodbath” if “the outcome of this election is not to his liking.” This, however, was another mischaracterization of Trump’s previous remarks in which he said that the country would fall victim to an economic bloodbath if he were not in office to place a “100 percent tariff on every single car” that is imported.
Muir also let Harris lie about the Supreme Court immunity ruling, late-term abortions, and Trump’s repeated condemnation of white supremacy uninterrupted, forcing Trump to preemptively defend himself against the blatant lies knowing Muir — the judge, jury, and executioner — only cared to “fact-check” Trump.
It was an insulting night: as Americans struggle to choose between putting food on the table or keeping a roof over their head, ABC News’ in-house Harris campaign staffers prioritized grilling Trump about the 2020 election and his flippant comments instead of pressing Harris on how she would bring relief. The moderators oversaw nothing more than a show trial where Trump was forced to defend every word he’s ever spoken while Harris was able to skate past her four years of failure.
But that was the entire purpose: The propaganda press wanted to sabotage Trump’s chances of winning by making him defend trivial issues, creating fodder for the media to malign him while praising Harris.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be so surprised by the lopsided coverage. Media Research Center released a study that analyzed “all 100 campaign stories that aired on [Muir’s] World News Tonight [on ABC] from the day Harris entered the race (July 21) through September 6,” and purportedly “found 25 clearly positive statements about Harris from reporters, anchors, voters or other non-partisan sources, with zero negative statements — none,” as The Federalist previously reported.
“That computes to a gravity-defying 100% positive spin score for the Vice President,” the report claims, adding that Muir’s coverage was 93 percent negative “spin score” toward Trump.
Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2
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FABC and the rest of the FNM.
So, the harris campaign wants another debate. Okay, let’s see it on Fox News. At least the moderators there will be fair in their questioning, instead of being as lopsided as the questions from the MSM.
Debate Review
Yes, i did watch the debate if you can call it that, Harris avoided all the questions asked by moderators by saying i get back to that in a second, then totally avoided that question with no direct response, then going into other subject matters. She was well coached for sure, on exactly how to avoid those serious questions, of course she was not held accountable by the moderators for lack of question response. Hence, we still do not know where she stands on most issues. Trump was attacked very cleverly by Harris comments, supported then by other then Harris attacks but then topic change by the team of moderators. Believe Trump was cross checked by the moderators six times Harris never once, while trying to respond to Trump attacks, then instead of asking questions about issues, kept reviewing old Trump policies while he was if office before. Harris was not the only one to coached well, some one coached the moderators on subject reversal, as Trumps responses were in in mid-statement. Any how, the public finally got a look at Harris who used her fall back future response at least a dozen or more times about some future goal she can not honor as promised without Congress Court approval, but the basic theme was always to attack Trump and avoid all negative issues she has caused, on was part of….The winner of the debate was the American voting public, because Trump pointed out their corruption and lack of any serious planning to reduce the 35 trillion debt that still exists.
It was time we had confirmation of what we knew already, ABC and the rest of the News Media is crap, gone are the days and nights of a Walter Cronkite, Muir and his yapping side dog showed us what moderators should never be BIASED! Wow, you all made us realize that you gave the Kamel the questions before she ever stepped on that podium. Disgusting! I don’t watch that Dreck they call the news on ABC or CNN or NBC or CBS, NewsMax and Fox are my stations. I hate a Liar and I hate Stupid People I saw it in one package last night, in the Kamel and her support team.
I don’t know if anyone noticed but minutes before the ABC propaganda “debate” started there was a five-minute spot by a “gold star father” (I am a “gold star brother”) ranting against Trump. It was a lead-in to the debate, which of course was biased against Trump and Republican Conservatives. It was highly inappropriate and was explicit about ABC’s bias for progressive[sic] Democrats. Also against their “rules” established to mute the microphones of non-speakers, ABC allowed open mikes throughout, which, of course, were meant to enable Trump to ramble whenever he wanted. And he did causing much discord blamed on Trump, while Harris’s scatterbrained talk did in no way explain her values, goals and specifics of her policies. We the People know no more about what a Harris Walz administration would do. She is still a great unknown, although morning-after Democrat responses said the opposite, while not discussing any specifics of her plan. They did, however, lambast Trump for not having specific plans for what might happen after he gets rid of Obamacare. (He kept saying he would not do that, but nevermind.) ABC’s bias probably will not tip the scales, but it is unfair and disreputable , but Democrats love it.
A-Typical letting KKKamala talk without being hindered on rebuttals while they tried to keep Trump from rebuttals. Trump HAD TO speak over the 2 BIASED moderators.
I’m NOT for any Dem at this time but she did maintain herself.
Trump had 3 against 1. If there’s a next debate, NEEDS to be conservative mods.