Donald Trump complained the moderators were unfair to him in the presidential debate
Donald Trump has fumed about biased moderating during the presidential debate after he was ‘fact checked’ at least three times, as Republicans and Democrats accused each other’s candidate of lying.
Donald Trump and allies have blasted the two hosts of Tuesday night’s (Wednesday AEST) presidential debate as a “three on one” fight, as pundits and viewers awarded victory to Kamala Harris in the contest and bookies pared back their chances of a Trump victory in November.
The morning after the highly anticipated, 90-minute debate the former president called into Fox news to defend a performance he dubbed “my best debate ever”, slamming ABC’s debate hosts David Muir and Linsey Davis for “fact checking” him numerous times and his opponent not at all.
“I thought that was my best debate, EVER, especially since it was THREE ON ONE!” Trump posted on social media in the aftermath of the debate at the National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia.
The former president, who was fact checked at least three times over his comments on late term abortions, the outcome of the 2020 election, and claims migrants were eating pets, said the event was “rigged”, telling Fox News: “I assumed it would be … they were correcting everything and not correcting with her”.
Megyn Kelly, a former Fox News host turned podcaster, who moderated a 2015 presidential with Mr Trump said the two hosts were a “disgraceful failure”. “This is one of the most biased, unfair debates I have ever seen,” she said, reflecting near universal condemnation among Republicans and Trump allies.
"I'm disgusted. I'm ashamed of those moderators at ABC News. They did exactly what their bosses wanted...It was 3 against 1. It's very easy to look like you know what you're doing when both moderators are entirely on your side."
— The Megyn Kelly Show (@MegynKellyShow) September 11, 2024
- @MegynKelly
FULL: https://t.co/6p1OW2Pu1Rpic.twitter.com/KK12ZJpFOt
Billionaire financier Bill Ackman, a former Democrat who is helping raising funds for Trump, asked his 1.4 million followers on X why the comperes were not fact checking Harris, who conservative news outlet Breitbart said made at least 21 false claims.
CNN, regarded as a more pro Democrat network, said Trump had made at least 30 false claims.
“Trump again delivered a staggering quantity and variety of false claims, some of which were egregious lies about topics including abortion, immigration and the economy. Harris was far more accurate,” its staffers wrote.
The former president remained adamant on Thursday (AEST) that he won the debate, “according to every single poll” he told reporters in Pennsylvania without specifying which, although remained uncommitted to a second debate in October, which Harris’s campaign team have demanded.
CNN, whose moderators didn’t fact check either Trump or Joe Biden when they hosted the June presidential debate, where the president bombed spectacularly, released a snap poll of 605 viewers after the debate, 63 per cent of whom said Harris had won.
“When a fighter gets knocked out or loses the fight the first thing he says is we want a rematch … are we going to do a rematch” I just don’t know we’ll think about it,” Trump told reporters.
Separately, former independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy, now a Trump ally, conceded the former president lost the debate on presentation and hadn’t prepared sufficiently, even if he deserved credit “on the substance”.
“I think Trump did not tell his story, a very good story, about his presidency; he didn’t convey that as well as he could have,” he told Fox News on Wednesday (Thursday AEST), adding that he expected the Republican leader to endure a “slight drop” in support among independents.
The former president’s support dropped further on political betting markets overnight, falling from 52 per cent before the debate to 47 per cent, according to an average of eight markets tracked by RealClear Politics.
According to the New York Times, the 78 year old Republican spoke for 43 minutes during the debate, around 6 minutes longer than Harris.
More Coverage
Trump would have been convicted if he wasn’t elected: special counsel report
Donald Trump would have been convicted for his alleged effort to overturn the result of the 2020 election if he hadn’t been elected four years later, said a report published on Tuesday.
Afghan war exit ‘was right thing to do’
In his last foreign policy speech, the US President said the incoming Trump administration has been left in a better position because of his foreign policies.