Among ABC viewers Tonight's World News The host of David Muir's show was apparently unhappy with the broadcast of the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
During the September 10 event, Muir and co-host Lindsey Davis fact-checked Trump multiple times but were unable to confront Harris with any corrections, Fox News reported. Reported on tuesday.
Many conservatives have said the debate was not fair, which has reportedly damaged the network.
Muir's “World News Tonight” averaged 7.6 million viewers in 2024 prior to the debate, but averaged 6.7 million viewers for the three broadcasts after the debate on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
“World News Tonight's” 12% drop in viewership is more significant when comparing ABC's three post-debate broadcasts to its year-to-date totals than the smaller declines for “CBS Evening News” and “NBC Nightly News,” although Muir's show still retained its No. 1 spot among evening news programs.
After the 90-minute debate, viewers accused the moderators of apparent bias in Harris' favor, claiming they used double standards in follow-up questions, fact-checking and question framing, according to Breitbart News.
Meanwhile, mainstream Democratic media figures heaped praise on Muir and Davis after the debate, Breitbart News reported Wednesday.
“At one point during the debate, Muir fact-checked Trump's claim that he had been being sarcastic while discussing the results of the 2020 election in a recent interview,” the article noted.
A recent Fox report said it was unclear whether Trump supporters had stopped watching ABC News after the incident, but Trump told the network the news was “one-sided.”
During an interview on Fox News Channel Fox and FriendsTrump called Muir and Davis a “rigged deal” and suggested they were reflective of the American media, Breitbart News reported Wednesday.
He also said:[A] “A lot of people are very upset about this. And, you know, we have a corrupt press. There are a lot of bad people out there. It's astonishing.”
