ABC News’ broadcast of the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump drew in close to 58 million viewers, as per initial Nielsen ratings.
The much-awaited showdown, which saw 57.7 million people tuning in across ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, Fox, and CNN, surpassed the June debate between President Biden and Trump, which had attracted 51.3 million viewers.
ABC News, which hosted the debate, led with 18.3 million viewers. Fox, Fox News, and Fox Business combined for 13.7 million viewers. NBC brought in 9.7 million, CBS had 5.9 million, while MSNBC and CNN followed with 6 million and 4.1 million viewers, respectively.
With President Biden’s widely criticized debate performance still fresh in viewers’ minds, many were eager to see how Harris would fare against Trump. Biden’s poor showing was a major reason for his decision not to seek re-election, handing the torch to Harris.
Despite strong viewership, the Harris-Trump debate fell short of the 73.1 million viewers who tuned in four years earlier to see the first debate between Biden and Trump, moderated by Fox News’ Chris Wallace.
This debate featured Trump, now 78, and Harris, 59, the recently confirmed Democratic presidential nominee, going head-to-head for the first time since her nomination last month.
Trump appeared visibly unsettled at times as Harris made several stinging remarks, including claims that military leaders found Trump to be a “disgrace,” and that global leaders were “laughing” at him. She even alleged that “people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom,” after his 2020 defeat by “81 million people.”
Throughout the 90-minute debate, the two candidates sparred over key issues such as abortion, foreign policy, and crime. ABC moderators David Muir and Lindsey Davis occasionally stepped in to fact-check Trump, leading to Republican complaints that Harris was receiving easier treatment regarding her controversial statements.
When Trump argued that rising crime was due to migrants entering the country under Harris’ watch, David Muir interrupted, stating, “President Trump, as you know, the FBI says overall violent crime is actually coming down.”
Trump fired back, asserting that “they didn’t include the cities with the worst crime,” naming Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago as examples of cities omitted from the data.
Trump also faced correction after claiming that President Biden had sent Harris to negotiate with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that the war started just three days after her visit. He remarked, “that’s the kind of talent we have with her,” referring to Harris’ 2022 diplomatic mission to Europe to prevent the Russian invasion.
Muir directly asked Harris, “Vice President Harris, have you ever met Vladimir Putin?” Harris promptly labeled the claim as one of Trump’s many “lies.”
Harris’ performance was notably stronger compared to Biden’s earlier debate debacle, which had rattled Democrats with fears of Trump winning in a landslide. Harris successfully dodged major pitfalls and difficult questions regarding her record and shifting positions on various critical topics.
Before the debate, Trump’s allies and Republican pundits expressed concerns over Harris’ close relationship with Dana Walden, a senior Disney executive overseeing ABC News, raising doubts about the network’s neutrality.
After the debate, Republicans criticized the ABC News moderators, highlighting missed opportunities to fact-check Harris on issues like her statement that Trump had jeopardized access to IVF treatment, and her false claim that Trump would adopt the Project 2025 right-wing agenda, despite his repeated denials.
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) tweeted his frustration: “ABC News has refused to ‘fact-check’ Kamala Harris on lying about Trump’s positions on: – Project 2025 – Charlottesville comments – ‘Bloodbath’ comments – IVF.”
Meanwhile, Democrats celebrated the moderator controversy, interpreting it as evidence of a poor night for Trump.
“He wants to be president of the United States, I would hope that he can manage a few obvious questions,” commented a former Biden-Harris administration official to The Post. They added, “It’s just like the former president — always blaming someone else for your failures.”
{Matzav.com}
