In a post-debate interview, ABC News anchor Lindsey Davis acknowledged that her fact-checking of former President Trump was influenced by the recent CNN debate, in which Trump lost miserably to President Biden.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Davis said she wanted to address concerns that Trump's comments would be “left alone” without being challenged by his opponent or the moderator, as happened when Trump and Biden debated on CNN in June.
“Davis, wearing rose-tinted glasses and speaking to The Times over breakfast at the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia, said his decision to try to correct the candidate was a response to his decision to drop out of the race after Biden's poor performance in the June 27 debate between President Trump and President Biden on CNN,” the Times reported.
“People are just shocked at the mere publication of the statement. [be] “There was no objection from then-candidate Biden or the moderators,” Davis told the outlet on Wednesday morning.
The Los Angeles Times praised Davis' profile, calling her “a rising star in the firing line against President Trump.”
In one controversial moment, after Trump cited comments made by former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam in 2019, who had suggested that live babies could be killed after birth following a “discussion” between the doctor and the mother, Davis responded by saying, “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after birth.”
While liberals celebrated the moment, one pro-life group called ABC News a correction, saying Davis' comments were “100 percent inaccurate.”
Since the debate, Muir and Davis have been criticized for appearing biased toward Vice President Kamala Harris. Debate moderators fact-checked Trump's comments five times on Tuesday night but failed to correct Harris once.
Trump also alleged bias from the ABC hosts, telling “Fox and Friends” on Wednesday: “It was three to one. It was a rigged deal, just as I predicted.”
Despite no fact-checking of Harris taking place, Davis maintained that her team would be fact-checking both candidates throughout the evening.
“Mr. Davis, along with co-host David Muir, had spent hours studying campaign rallies and interviews in preparation for the highly anticipated event at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, ready to counter the candidates' most damning comments,” the Times reported.
Davis pushed back against the accusations of bias, saying he and Muir could not have been aware of all the false statements, the Times reported, but failed to mention that Harris had never been accused of making false statements.
Another part of the article said Davis simply ignored criticism that she was supporting Harris and shut down her social media accounts.
“We are painfully aware that there is a stereotype that this moment cannot be covered fairly, and anonymous Instagram users remind us of that every day,” Davis said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to ABC News for comment.
