Top headlines from legacy media outlets halfway through the debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris painted a picture of Harris throwing punches and Trump on the defensive without mentioning the highly criticized ABC moderators.
Shortly into the debate, moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis began interrupting Trump to “fact-check” him on issues ranging from violent crime to abortion. Conservatives pointed out the moderators’ apparent bias, but legacy media outlets such as CNN, NBC, and The New York Times focused on showing Harris on the “attack.”
CNN’s main headline during the second half of the debate read: “Harris puts Trump on defense.” The New York Times wrote a nearly identical headline: “Harris puts Trump on defense in fierce debate.” Meanwhile, NBC News wrote, “Trump spreads conspiracy theories, Harris attacks on Jan. 6 at debate.”
“The former president defended the January 6 rioters and refused to acknowledge he lost the 2020 presidential election. He also repeated a false conspiracy theory,” CNN wrote. The New York Times added, “Ex-President Gets Angry as Talk Turns to Jan. 6 and Ukraine War.” The Times added that Harris “rattled the former president with attacks focused on abortion, immigration and his relationships with dictators.”
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As many conservatives pointed out on social media, Trump was forced to defend himself during the debate against claims from Harris and “fact-checks” from the ABC moderators. Muir interrupted the former president after he discussed allegations of Haitian migrants eating animals in Ohio, saying the city manager has said the allegations are unsubstantiated. Muir also “fact-checked” Trump on violent crime statistics, citing an FBI report. Trump fired back, saying the FBI report deflated the number of violent crimes.
Davis similarly stopped Trump when he pointed out that Democrats in some states allow abortions after birth. She claimed, “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born,” but that is not true. In Minnesota, the state led by her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz eliminated a legal obligation for doctors to provide life-saving care to a baby who survives an abortion attempt, Just The News reported.
“The moderators are the story of the evening. And it isn’t a good story,” Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro wrote.
“The pile-on against Trump is so bad and so obvious this will backfire,” political commentator Megyn Kelly said.
