Donald Trump, former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate, has sharply criticised ABC News for allegedly violating an agreement with his campaign during a recent presidential debate. The 78-year-old Trump accused the network of unfairly fact-checking his statements while allowing Vice President Kamala Harris to go unchallenged.
During a campaign event in New York City on Thursday, Trump specifically targeted ABC moderators, especially David Muir, for correcting his claims about rising crime rates in the U.S. Trump argued that the correction was both inaccurate and biased, claiming, “When I said crime is way up, he corrected me… but he didn’t correct Kamala Harris even once,” according to Fox News.
The debate, held on September 10 and organised by ABC News, saw Trump and Harris face off, with U.S. media outlets declaring Harris the winner. Trump, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the moderation, stating that he was facing biased treatment. “It was me against three,” Trump remarked, referring to Muir, co-moderator Linsey Davis, and Harris. “But I think we did great.”
Trump’s biggest frustration stemmed from an alleged pre-debate agreement with ABC, in which the network reportedly promised not to fact-check either candidate during the event. Trump claimed ABC broke this “deal,” accusing the network of acting in bad faith. “We had a deal with ABC that there would be no corrections of any kind, and they violated it. They’re bad people, fake news,” he stated.
Trump also took aim at Linsey Davis, who he said had provided the first fact-check of the debate. “I never heard of her. I never want to hear of her. She was terrible,” he added.
Conservative commentators echoed Trump’s grievances, accusing ABC moderators of being harsh on Trump while letting Harris slide without any challenges. According to reports, Trump was fact-checked five times during the debate, whereas Harris faced no corrections from the moderators.
Reflecting on the debate, Trump admitted he regretted not calling out the moderators at the time. “I wanted to be elegant, and I didn’t want to go after the anchors. I wish I did,” he said during an appearance on “Gutfeld!”
Trump has not yet confirmed whether he will participate in any future debates, including a proposed CNN debate on October 23. While he hinted it might be “too late” given that early voting had already begun, he left the possibility open, stating, “Maybe if I got in the right mood.”
ABC News has yet to comment on Trump’s accusations.
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