ABC News anchor Linsey Davis has acknowledged that her approach to fact-checking former President Donald Trump during a recent debate was influenced by concerns arising from a previous CNN debate that went poorly for President Joe Biden.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Davis revealed that the June debate on CNN, during which Biden’s performance was widely criticised, led her to take a more active role in challenging Trump’s statements.
Davis, interviewed over breakfast at the Ritz Carlton in Philadelphia, explained that she was motivated by fears that misleading claims, like those made during the CNN debate, would be left unchallenged. She pointed to the June 27 debate between Trump and Biden, where the moderators and Biden failed to dispute some of Trump’s statements.
“People were concerned that statements were allowed just to hang and not [be] disputed by the candidate Biden, at the time, or the moderators,” Davis told the ‘Times’.
The *Los Angeles Times* profile praised Davis as a “rising star”. It noted her assertive questioning of Trump during the debate, particularly when she pushed back against his comments about former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s 2019 remarks regarding late-term abortions.
Trump had referenced the governor’s controversial comments, suggesting that Northam endorsed killing babies after birth following a discussion between the mother and the physician. Davis responded sternly, saying, “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born.” This moment went viral, drawing praise from liberal commentators.
However, a pro-life group demanded a correction from ABC News, calling Davis’ statement “100% inaccurate.”
Following the debate, Davis and co-moderator David Muir were criticised by Trump supporters and other commentators for allegedly showing bias towards Vice President Kamala Harris. Throughout the discussion, Davis and Muir fact-checked Trump five times but did not correct Harris once.
Trump claimed that the moderators were biased, telling *Fox & Friends*, “It was three to one. It was a rigged deal, as I assumed it would be.”
Davis, however, defended her moderation, explaining that the goal was to fact-check both candidates throughout the night. According to the Los Angeles Times, Davis and Muir spent hours reviewing campaign rallies and interviews to prepare for the debate to counter the candidates’ most extreme or misleading claims.
Davis acknowledged that she and Muir could not catch every inaccurate statement, though many critics noted that Harris’ misstatements went unaddressed.
In response to accusations of bias, Davis expressed awareness of the challenges she faces as a journalist.
She mentioned that social media critics often remind her of the stereotype that she cannot cover certain political moments without being perceived as biased. “There is a stereotype that I am acutely aware of that I can’t be unbiased in covering this moment. And the anonymous Instagram people are daily reminders,” Davis said.
After the controversy, Davis reportedly deactivated her social media accounts, ignoring the online backlash. Despite the criticism, the ‘Los Angeles Times’ described Davis as someone who has firmly established herself in the media landscape, holding Trump accountable during a highly anticipated debate.
ABC News has not commented on the matter following the debate or addressed Trump and his supporters’ allegations of bias.
