In a fiery monologue on Wednesday, former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly criticized ABC News for its handling of the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. What started as a contentious debate on foreign policy in Philadelphia, Kelly claimed, soon became a “rigged” event orchestrated by ABC News to favor Harris, she charged.
Kelly specifically targeted the network’s moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis, accusing them of extreme bias towards Harris. The most significant revelation, according to Kelly, was the alleged involvement of Disney executive Dana Walden, who oversees ABC News. Kelly suggested that Walden, a close personal friend of Harris who played a key role in introducing the vice president to her husband, Doug Emhoff, was behind the scenes influencing the debate.
“I’m disgusted. I’m ashamed of those moderators at ABC News. They did exactly what their bosses wanted them to do. The person who runs ABC News is a close personal friend of Kamala Harris and is responsible for Kamala Harris and her husband meeting. They did Dana Walden’s bidding tonight. It was three against one on that debate stage this evening,” she began in a short video posted immediately after the debate Tuesday evening.
She noted further (video at the end):
It was three against one. It’s very easy to look like you know what you’re doing when both moderators are entirely on your side. Trump did the best he could under the circumstances, but it really was like three fighters in the ring pummeling one opponent, and Trump tried to take them all on. He did fine. He did the best he could. He was thrown off a few times, to the point where he was unnecessarily defensive and getting angry. And so was I. Were you?
This was a mistake to trust ABC News with this debate. The Republicans must learn from this mistake the same way the Democrats never, ever agree to do anything with moderators they don’t entirely trust. This should be the last time the Republicans ever do this because those two moderators tried to sink Donald Trump tonight.
The numerous fact-checks on what he said and none on what she said — none. I don’t remember a single fact-check of anything she said, and she lied repeatedly. She just got away with it in the moderators’ eyes. That was Donald Trump’s job to fact-check her. That’s correct, except you didn’t employ that same tactic when it came to Trump. And you accused him of lying, even when it was just your opinion that he lied.
When Trump tried to say that his comment that he lost 2020 by a whisker was him being sarcastic, David Muir actually interjected, saying, “I didn’t hear sarcasm.” Who gives a shit what you heard? Who died and left you political analyst-in-chief? You’re supposed to be the objective news anchor of *World News Tonight.* That’s a comment you make to your significant other, David, not in the debates. “It didn’t sound like that to me.” Shut up. That is inappropriate. It’s not for you to make that call. Leave it up to Kamala Harris, leave it up to people like me who will play the sound bite and let the audience decide. But you were out of line, and they did it to him over and over and over again.
The worst part of all of this is the obvious tactic by ABC News, which was as follows: “Mr. Trump, you said something incredibly controversial and terrible. Let me remind you of what it was. Do you have any regrets or thoughts on how terrible you were?” Trump answers. “Vice President Harris, how bad is Trump?” And then she’d answer. It happened over and over again. That was the format. “Mr. Trump, you’re a piece of shit. Kamala Harris, isn’t he a shit?” Thank you. It was incredible. And then anything Trump said, fact-check, fact-check, fact-check, and their fact-checks were full of shit.
I’m swearing even more than normal right now because I’m mad. I’m angry. I’m angry at them, at ABC, at my industry that I want nothing to do with. And I’ve never been happier to be outside and be able to say how I truly feel—and yes, even with some colorful words because that’s what the situation calls for. They’re trying to steal this election. They are openly working to sink him.
I think it was so bad, their bias against him and toward her, that it’s going to backfire. I actually think the American public is going to see through this, and there’s probably going to be some empathy for Trump.
“I’m disgusted. I’m ashamed of those moderators at ABC News. They did exactly what their bosses wanted…It was 3 against 1. It’s very easy to look like you know what you’re doing when both moderators are entirely on your side.”
FULL: https://t.co/6p1OW2Pu1R pic.twitter.com/KK12ZJpFOt
— The Megyn Kelly Show (@MegynKellyShow) September 11, 2024