Trump Blasts ABC’s David Muir for Debate Bias, Alleges Violation of Agreement
In a fiery speech Thursday night at Trump Tower, former President Donald Trump unloaded on ABC News and its anchor, David Muir, accusing the network of breaking pre-agreed terms during the September 10th presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump’s criticism came after what he described as a “three-on-one” ambush, with Muir and fellow moderator Linsey Davis siding with Harris and unfairly fact-checking him throughout the debate.
During his speech, Trump expressed frustration with Muir for challenging his statement about rising crime rates in the U.S., a key point in his campaign narrative. “I had one against three, but I think we did great,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News. “When I said that crime is way up in our country, Muir corrected me…and he was wrong.” According to Trump, Muir interjected with the claim that crime had not increased, repeating a common media talking point. However, Trump argued that the data was on his side, citing a sharp rise in crime, especially in urban areas.
Trump highlighted statistics from the National Crime Victimization Survey, which showed a 19% increase in violent crime (excluding simple assault) from 2019 to 2023. The survey, conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and administered by the Census Bureau, gathered responses from 230,000 Americans about their experiences with violent crimes. “So he corrected me on crime,” Trump recounted. “He said, ‘No, no, crime has not gone up.’ I said crime has gone up massively.”
The former president also accused Muir of selectively fact-checking him, while allowing Vice President Kamala Harris to make false or misleading claims without correction. “He didn’t correct [Vice President Kamala Harris] one time, and what she said was wrong, absolutely wrong,” Trump said. He referred to Harris’s statements about the 2017 Charlottesville rally and other topics, suggesting she went unchecked during the debate.
More importantly, Trump claimed that ABC violated an agreement his campaign had made with the network, which stipulated that moderators would not interject or fact-check candidates during the debate. “Now you don’t know this, but we had a deal with ABC that there will be no corrections of any kind, and they violated the deal,” Trump revealed. “So he did it many times to me during the debate… David Muir has lost all credibility.”
Linsey Davis, who co-moderated the debate, also came under fire from Trump. “I never heard of her. I never want to hear of her. She was terrible. I don’t know how she ever got her job in the first place,” he said. Trump went on to accuse both Muir and Davis of perpetuating “fake news” and implied that their actions during the debate were part of a broader media bias against him.
Fox News analysts observed that Muir and Davis fact-checked Trump at least five times during the debate, while offering no corrections to Harris. Trump voiced his frustration immediately after the debate during an appearance on Fox’s “Gutfield” program. “I think my only regret is that I wanted to be elegant, and I didn’t want to go after the anchors. I wish I did, in a way,” Trump said, continuing his critique of Muir and Davis.
As Trump gears up for another potential presidential run, his clashes with media figures like Muir and Davis reflect his ongoing battles against what he views as biased reporting. Despite the fiery exchanges, Trump remains confident about his performance in the debate and continues to rally his base by positioning himself as the target of unfair media scrutiny.