Former President and Republican Presidential Candidate Donald TrumpThe 78-year-old has criticized ABC News, accusing the network of violating its agreement with his campaign by fact-checking during a recent presidential debate.
Speaking at a campaign event in New York City on Thursday, Trump took aim ABC moderators, notably David MuirAccording to Fox News, to correct his claims about rising crime rates in America.
ABC News hosted First presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump On September 10, and according to American media, Kamala Harris won the debate.
This is not the first time Donald Trump has participated in a debate during an election cycle. In the last election, Donald Trump debates with Joe BidenWhere there was news of Biden’s defeat.
During the program, Trump expressed frustration at Muir’s restraint, saying, “I had it three to one, but I think we did pretty good. But David Muir of ABC, fake news, when I said our country Crime has skyrocketed in the U.S., so he corrected me…but he never once corrected Kamala Harris,” Fox News reported.
Trump noted a specific moment in the debate when Muir reportedly challenged his statements on crime.
“He said, ‘No, no, crime has not increased.’ I said crime has increased massively. He said, ‘I would like to say for the record that crime has not increased.'” Trump recalled that his figures were accurate.
The former president also claimed that ABC News broke a “deal” made with his campaign before the debate, which stipulated that there would be no fact-checking during the program. Trump said, “We had an agreement with ABC that there would be no corrections of any kind, and they violated the agreement. Why? Because they’re bad people, and they’re fake news.”
Trump also criticized co-moderator Lynsey Davis, who provided the debate’s first fact-check. He said, “I’ve never heard of her. I never want to hear of her. She was horrible. I don’t know how she got the job in the first place.”
Conservative critics have also expressed frustration with ABC’s debate moderation, accusing Muir and Davis of being too lenient on Vice President Kamala Harris as well as too harsh on Trump. Trump was fact-checked five times during the debate, while Harris was not challenged on any of her statements.
“Gutfeld!” But in a previous appearance, Trump acknowledged regret for not confronting the moderators during the debate. Trump said, “I think my only regret is that I wanted to look elegant, and I didn’t want to go after the anchors. I wish I could have done that somehow.”
Trump has not yet confirmed whether he will participate in another debate. He appeared to dismiss the CNN debate scheduled for October 23, saying it was “too late” as early voting had already begun. However, he kept the possibility open, telling Fox News, “Maybe if I was in the right mood.”
Despite Harris’s eagerness for a rematch, Trump highlighted that she had previously declined debate offers from Fox News and NBC News, which she had accepted before the ABC debate. ABC News did not respond to requests for comment.