Viewers have slammed David Muir for being too harsh on Former President Donald Trump during his first and likely the only debate with Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia. Muir, who co-moderated the debate with Linsey Davis, was accused on social media of teaming up against Trump.
Trump supporters slammed ABC moderators for being biased as they ran multiple fact checks of ex-president but did none for Harris. Also, Harris and Biden clashed over the debate rules, with Harris advocating for unmuted microphones. However, the same guidelines from Trump's previous debate with Biden — which had been a debacle for the former president — were kept in place, leaving the mics muted.
Trump Supporters Slam Muir
Former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard described the debate as "three vs one," while Newsweek editor Josh Hammer wrote on X, "This is a historically terrible moderation performance thus far from David Muir and Linsey Davis."
"The ABC moderators clearly shilling for Kamala Harris," she wrote.
Another supporter wrote: "Didn't realize @DavidMuir was actually the Democratic nominee."
One person shared a funny gif that seemed to show Muir carrying Harris across a battlefield as they faced off against Trump. "David Muir carrying Kamala Harris through the debate," the post read.
Viewers pointed out that Muir and Davis were quick to fact-check Trump on his remarks but didn't apply the same effort when Harris made inaccurate claims about Trump's stance on IVF.
Harris claimed Trump opposed in vitro fertilization, but the former president swiftly responded, saying that he had previously voiced support for the procedure when it was threatened with state-level bans.
Not a Fair Deal
"ABC is making a huge mistake trying to fact-check this live," said former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer.
"They're only proving how biased they are. Harris fabricated an attack on Trump over IVF. ABC sat there and said nothing."
Another viewer slammed the network for failing to fact-check Harris when she mentioned Trump's alleged backing of Project 2025, a claim he has consistently denied being a part of.
"The moderators didn't fact-check Kamala Harris on Project 2025. The moderators didn't fact-check Kamala Harris on IVF," author Abigail Shrier wrote.
"They just fact-checked Trump for the fourth time."
Meanwhile, Trump engaged in a back-and-forth with Muir after he repeated strange conspiracy theories about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, when asked about border security.
"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in," Trump said when asked about immigration policies during the Biden administration.
"They're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there."
As Trump carried on with his rant, Harris chuckled and shook her head in disbelief.
Muir swiftly fact-checked Trump, pointing out that the city manager of Springfield had found "no credible reports" of migrants harming pets in the area. Once Harris' mic was unmuted, she commented, "Now that's extreme."
