After what some pundits and political experts described as a rocky performance by Donald Trump during his debate with Kamala Harris, some of his supporters are accusing ABC News of bias, even suggesting that Harris was given the debate questions in advance.
Tuesday night’s debate, moderated by ABC News’ David Muir and Linsey Davis, has been criticized by Trump and his allies, who say the two moderators unfairly targeted the former president while favoring Harris.
ABC News signage is installed in the media file center inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center one day before the presidential debate on September 09, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump will face off in their first debate Tuesday evening at The National Constitution Center.
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The controversy escalated online when a self-proclaimed whistleblower using the X (formerly Twitter) account @DocNetyoutube, a self-described MAGA supporter, said they would release an affidavit alleging the debate was rigged.
Conservative accounts such as @MilaLovesJoe, @ChuckCallesto and @RealBenGeller, which have a combined following of over 1 million, quickly amplified the whistleblower’s story, spreading it across their platforms. Without evidence, they insisted that the Democratic nominee’s campaign was handed sample questions “essentially the same” as those used in the debate, along with promises that Trump would be “fact-checked.”
Newsweek reached out by email to ABC News on Thursday for comment regarding these allegations.
Riding the momentum from her debate performance, Harris’ campaign quickly challenged Trump to another debate, with Fox News offering to host. But Trump declined the offer. In a Truth Social post on Thursday afternoon, the former president accused Harris of pushing for a second debate because he “clearly” won their first matchup.
A day earlier, he had said, “I just don’t know” in response to the question of whether he would meet Harris for another debate. Some Republicans, including John Thune, who is No. 2 in the Senate‘s GOP leadership, have urged Trump to debate Harris again.
While Trump could still change his mind, his announcement means that Tuesday’s meeting will likely be the only time voters will see the two candidates facing off before November’s election. More than 67 million people watched the debate.
During a Thursday rally in North Carolina, Harris said she believes she and the former president “owe it to voters” to debate again.
Tuesday’s event was the first time that Trump and Harris had met, and the vice president largely controlled the tenor, goading Trump into agitated responses that contained exaggerations and mistruths. It came two months after Trump’s debate against Biden, whose unsteady performance and meandering answers led him to end his reelection bid and endorse Harris as his replacement on the ticket.
The Tuesday debate was the first time that Trump and Harris had met, and the vice president largely controlled the tenor of the evening, goading Trump into agitated responses that contained exaggerations and mistruths.
Their confrontation came two months after Trump’s debate against Biden, whose unsteady performance and meandering answers led to congressional Democrats‘ pressure on him to end his reelection bid. After withdrawing from the race, he endorsed Harris as his replacement.
