New York
CNN
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ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis fact-checked Donald Trump during Tuesday night’s presidential debate, quickly correcting the record set by millions of viewers at home after the Republican spread falsehoods about abortion, immigrants and the 2020 election.

The decision to fact-check the candidates live during the high-stakes broadcast marked a departure from recent debates and stood in contrast to the first presidential matchup of the 2024 season, hosted by CNN and moderated by anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. During the June debate, moderators did not correct false claims made by Trump and President Joe Biden. Instead, the network conducted a fact-check online and on television following the debate.

Ahead of Tuesday night’s debate in Philadelphia, ABC News declined to do live fact-checking, but once the event began, both anchors sprang into action to debunk Trump’s false claims on at least three occasions.

About 20 minutes into the debate, the former president claimed that Democrats have advocated abortion in the ninth month of pregnancy or supported “executing” babies “after birth,” making a notorious and oft-repeated false claim. Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, has said that “execution after birth is OK,” Trump falsely claimed.

Moderator Linsey Davis immediately corrected the record on abortion. “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it is born,” she said.

Later in the debate, Trump falsely claimed that migrants in Ohio are killing and eating pets, repeating a debunked claim that had been amplified this week by right-wing media figures and echoed by Republican leaders.

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs,” Trump said. “The people that came here are eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country and it’s a disgrace.”

Muir quickly corrected Trump on his claim.

“I want to clarify. You mentioned Springfield, Ohio. ABC News contacted the city manager there. He told us that there are no credible reports of specific claims that pets have been abused, injured or mistreated by individuals within the immigrant community.”

“Well, I’ve seen people on television,” Trump argued. “People on television are saying my dog ​​was taken and used for food. So maybe he said that, and maybe that’s a good thing for a city manager to say.”

“I’m not getting this from television. I’m getting this from the city manager,” Muir replied.

“People are saying on television that the dog was eaten by the people who went there,” Trump said.

“Again, the Springfield city manager says there is no evidence of that,” Muir responded.

ABC moderators also used subtle approaches to get to the truth. Later in the debate, Muir asked Trump about a recent comment in which he appeared to acknowledge that he had lost the 2020 presidential election to Biden by a “whisker.”

“Do you now acknowledge that you lost in 2020?” Muir asked.

“That was meant sarcastically,” he said. “I don’t acknowledge that at all.”

Muir then turned to Harris and said, “You heard the president there tonight. He said he didn’t say he lost by a ‘whisker.’ So he still believes he didn’t lose the election that was won by President Biden and you.”

After the debate, CNN’s Daniel Dale reported that Trump had made at least 33 false claims during the debate, compared to one made by Harris.

“This was a stunningly dishonest debate performance by Trump. Just lie after lie on topic after topic,” Dale said.

In past debates, moderators have struggled to balance fact-checking with how much to intervene to get candidates to respond or keep them on track with their answers. In 2012, CNN anchor Candy Crowley drew criticism from conservatives when she fact-checked Mitt Romney during a debate with former President Barack Obama.

In 2020, the two moderators of the general election, Chris Wallace, then of Fox News, and Kristen Welker of NBC, largely stayed away from fact-checking.

CNN political director David Chalian told The Washington Post ahead of the network’s June debate that the stage “is not the ideal venue for a live fact-checking exercise.” The moderators’ role, he said, was “simply to facilitate and moderate a debate … not to be a participant.”

ABC’s decision to fact-check Trump live from the stage drew the ire of his allies and right-wing media, who claimed the moderators ignored Harris’s inaccuracies.

“Weird how the hack moderators at @abcnews only ‘Factchecking’ Trump and letting Kamala lie nonstop. Fake News is the enemy of the people!” Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X.

“MORE FACT CHECKING FROM ABC – THIS IS THE WORST ANCHOR PILE-ON I HAVE EVER SEEN. 3 to 1,” Megyn Kelly, the former Fox News and NBC host turned conservative podcaster, wrote on X.