David Muir and Linsey Davis are set to moderate Tuesday night’s presidential debate but don’t expect a fair and balanced effort from the ABC anchors.
If their past reporting is any indication of how Muir and Davis will perform, debate viewers should expect their questions to frame Trump as a “racist” “white supremacist” who will restrict abortion “rights.” They will also set up Kamala Harris to position herself as a “glass-ceiling” breaker as well as a protector of “reproductive freedom.”
The following are just a few of the most obnoxious outbursts from Muir and Davis via the MRC’s archives:
LINSEY DAVIS
Linking Trump to KKK and White Supremacists
“Former President Donald Trump is expected to go campaign in Howell, Michigan tomorrow. Many people are aware that a month ago, in Howell, KKK protesters marched in the streets with the white robes on and suggested that they support Donald Trump. I’m curious if you make anything about that connection and him going in particularly to Howell tomorrow.”
— ABC World News Tonight Sunday anchor Linsey Davis to Governor Gretchen Whitmer (MI) on ABC’s Your Voice/Your Vote: Democratic National Convention, August 19, 2024.
ABC’s Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos: “One thing that is getting a lot of notice, Linsey Davis, online, the President refused to condemn white supremacists.”
Correspondent Linsey Davis: Right and he said he would, when he was asked, sure, I will, and then he ended up essentially giving a call to action, saying stand back and stand by. That was something that really got my attention and I was — I can’t say I was surprised, but it was really a moment that I think that people especially in the black community heard loud and clear.
— The First Presidential Debate — Your Voice Your Vote 2020: An ABC News Special, September 29, 2020.
“You’ve suggested voter suppression is more insidious now, in 2019, than it was even in the ’60s. How so?...Would you say that President Trump is a white supremacist or a racist?”
— Host Linsey Davis’s questions to former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on ABC’s This Week, August 18, 2019.
Davis Tosses Softballs to Kamala Harris
“So we’re here in Iowa. You just hosted this conversation about protecting reproductive freedom. What does this mean to you personally?...The Des Moines Register recently had a poll that suggested 70 percent of women in the state of Iowa believe that abortion should be legal in all if not most cases….And yet you had the governor who just passed the six-week abortion ban. And so I’m curious, if you are concerned that you're losing ground on this fight, in multiple states?...There are reports that say that you have the lowest approval rating of any Vice President. I’m curious how much of a role, if any, that you feel race and gender play in that?”
— ABC anchor Linsey Davis’s questions to Kamala Harris on ABC News Live Prime, July 31, 2023.
Hyping Harris Smashing “Second-Highest Glass Ceiling” and Advancing Unproven McDonald’s Story
“To have potentially a woman who’s been able to crack this second highest glass ceiling in this country is profound. It’s powerful.”
— ABC News Live anchor Linsey Davis on ABC’s Good Morning America, November 6, 2020.
“And as much as the night is historic, and how the Biden/Harris ticket will tackle these crises of immigration, gun control, health care in this country, I think that it’s also, you know, there was awful lot of pressure on Biden to pick a black woman as his running mate. And now we’re going to get a chance to get a sense more of who she is. This is someone who, as a student, worked at McDonald’s on the fries and the ice cream and somebody who has said that she eats no for breakfast. She says that you have to tell her at least five times before she even hears it and I think that that’s part of what’s made her, she has said, such a history-maker, having multiple positions where she was the first woman of color.”
— ABC’s Democratic National Convention — Your Voice/Your Vote 2020, August 19, 2020. Snopes deemed Harris’s repeated claim she worked at McDonald’s as “unproven.”
Enabling Hillary’s Election Denial, She “Really Won”
“When you look back, would it have been more easy to handle losing outright than to have really won, but still lost?”
— Correspondent Linsey Davis to Hillary Clinton on ABC’s streaming channel ABC Live, March 3, 2020.
Davis Boosts NAACP’s Ridiculous “Travel Advisory” for Florida
“The NAACP is issuing a formal travel advisory for Florida, saying the state has become hostile to black Americans under Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. Other civil rights groups have issued similar warnings in recent weeks. This as DeSantis is on the verge of entering the race for the White House.”
— ABC’s World News Tonight substitute anchor Linsey Davis, May 21, 2023.
Using Language of the Left: DeSantis Signs “Setback to Abortion Access,” SCOTUS Could “Roll Back” Rights
“Next tonight, a major new setback to abortion access. Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis signing into law a 15-week abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, or human trafficking. It’s the latest in a growing number of states enacting strict new measures ahead of a Supreme Court decision that could roll back abortion rights nationwide.”
— Anchor Linsey Davis on ABC’s World News Tonight, April 14, 2023.
DAVID MUIR
Freaking Out After Dobbs Decision
“We begin tonight with the historic and sweeping ruling from the Supreme Court. The conservative majority by a 6-3 vote overturning Roe vs. Wade. The right to choose abortion that had stood for half a century in this country, a nearly 50-year precedent. The court turning the issue over to the states, and tonight 13 states have already had so-called trigger laws on the books already banning abortions, set to go into effect immediately. Six states now banning abortion. Missouri and Oklahoma among them. And in all, 26 states plan to ban or severely restrict abortion now. Tonight these images coming in from across the country, the demonstrations and protests….Outside the Supreme Court, crowds growing all day. One side declaring victory, the other side in disbelief that this is no longer a decision protected across this country between a woman and her doctor….This decision opens potential challenges now to other settled rights in this country, including contraception and same-sex marriage.”
— Anchor David Muir on ABC’s World News Tonight, June 24, 2022
Honoring Old Joe for Stepping Down to Save Democracy from Trump
“Tonight gratitude is the word for so many people in this country, pointing to Joe Biden now and calling him a patriot who stepped in when democracy needed it.”
— Anchor David Muir on ABC’s live coverage of President Joe Biden’s speech, July 24, 2024.
Not Even D-Day Ceremony Is Spared From Pro-Biden Bias
Anchor David Muir: “President Biden is here in France tonight, set to deliver an address tomorrow here at the D-Day commemoration….The president expected, of course, to honor the American heroes who died here, who fought here, and who made it home. And why what they did is so important and timely, with what the world is facing right now.”
Correspondent Mary Bruce: “Exactly, David. President Biden arriving here in France today to honor to veterans but, also to underscore the important of American leadership and protecting democracy…..Trying to rally allies to help defend Ukraine….And while President Biden’s remarks will not be a campaign speech, he has put preserving democracy at the center of this race, and David, he will make clear the sharp contrast with Donald Trump.”
— ABC World News Tonight, June 5, 2024.
Muir Brags: You Can Watch “Outlets” Like Fox or “Come to the News” At ABC
Co-host Joy Behar: “What’s the stake right now for journalism? How do you cut through all the division? Can you even do that? And what do we do about a station like Fox, you know, that puts out incorrect information on a regular basis?”...
ABC’s World News Tonight anchor David Muir: “You talk about the divide in the country, it’s very real. The politicization of everything….And look, I don’t say this to pat ourselves on the back as a team, but last week we had more than 9 million people watching every night and I think that that is a silver lining and it’s a reminder to us all of the stakes. People do want the news, they do want a team that’s going to cut through the noise. And we have to give them some respect….They want the facts, they can make up their minds on their own if we cut through the noise for them. Listen you can go to your outlets where you’ll hear your opinion back to you, but you can also come to the news where we’ll arm you with the information you need no matter how difficult it is.”
— ABC’s The View, January 19, 2022.
One Final Gorbasm
“Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union. Rising to power after seven decades of communist rule. He helped end the Cold War. Breaking the mold of the Soviet leaders before him, he was outgoing, charming those he met.”
— Anchor David Muir on ABC’s World News Tonight, August 30, 2022.
Fearmongering on Climate Change: Food and Water Will Become “Scarce”
“News tonight from the U.N.’s alarming new report on climate change. Scientists now warning it is worse than previously thought, that the window is, quote, ‘rapidly closing to avoid its deadly consequences.’ In fact, they say nearly half the world’s population living in the so-called danger zone now. The report finding that even if warming is limited to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, which has been a global goal, still, up to fourteen percent of species will face a very high risk of extinction. And in some regions of the world, food and water will become increasingly scarce.”
— Anchor David Muir on ABC’s World News Tonight, February 28, 2022.
Heralding Pelosi’s “New Dawn”
“We’re going to begin with that historic power shift in Washington. Democrats taking over the House and making history, with the new makeup of Congress. Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to ever be speaker of the House, now returning for her second run in the role. Calling the session to order with her grandchildren, inviting all of the children and grandchildren in the chamber right up to the podium. Calling it a ‘new dawn,’ Pelosi welcomed the most diverse group of representatives the Congress has ever seen.”
— Anchor David Muir on ABC’s World News Tonight, January 3, 2019.
Hoping Hillary Hits Trump Harder
“In the meantime, we turn to Hillary Clinton, reacting tonight after that harsh report from the State Department about her private e-mail server. Our team also asking Clinton today what some of her supporters have been asking. After Donald Trump’s attacks, is Clinton fighting back hard enough?”
— Anchor David Muir on ABC’s World News Tonight, May 26, 2016.
Hype on Hillary’s Nomination Night
“Breaking news tonight on the floor of the Democratic National Convention. The roll call under way. The tension. History about to be made….With Hillary Clinton about to become the first female presidential nominee…We are witnessing something truly historic in this convention hall right behind us. Real emotion here on display, tears of joy from Hillary Clinton’s supporters….Bill Clinton will give what could be his most personal speech ever as he talks about his wife….A woman still so unknown to many in this country. Will he say anything that changes their minds?...I was just down there on the floor. What excitement in the room!”
— Anchor David Muir on ABC’s World News Tonight, July 26, 2016.
Will Mitt Romney “Fire the Baby?”
Anchor David Muir: “They were at a polling place in Manchester, the governor and his wife, holding a baby. Very much an image you’d expect from the front-runner. But if you rewind the tape and play up the sound — ”
Man’s voice: “Are you going to fire the baby? Are you going to fire the baby?”
Muir: “Those shouts there, ‘Are you going to fire the baby?’ These are words that are going to follow Mitt Romney beyond New Hampshire right into South Carolina.”
— ABC’s World News, January 10, 2012.
European Leaders Tried to “Get Close” to “Cool Kid in the Class” Obama
“As we wrap up the week we wanted to take note of these images we’ve been looking at, particularly this one where other heads of state are seemingly trying to get close to the head of the class, or the cool kid in the class, if you will, President Obama.”
— Anchor David Muir on President Barack Obama’s first trip to Europe on ABC World News, April 4, 2009.
