ABC’s “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir may have turned away some viewers. The network upset conservatives during last week’s presidential debate.
Muir and co-moderator Linsey Davis fact-checked Trump five times. But they never corrected Vice President Kamala Harris. Many conservatives felt the debate wasn’t fair. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America even called for a correction. The group said Davis’ abortion claim was “100% inaccurate.”
After the debate, Muir’s “World News Tonight” saw fewer viewers. The show averaged 6.7 million viewers on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. That’s down from 7.6 million before the debate in 2024.
The 12% drop in viewers for Muir’s show was larger than what CBS and NBC experienced. However, “World News Tonight” still ranked as the top evening newscast.
It’s unclear if Trump supporters were tuning out because of the debate. But Trump called the debate “one-sided.” He told Fox News that Harris should have been fact-checked too.
“Every one of them should have been questioned by David Muir,” Trump said. “Everyone’s lost respect for him.”
ABC News defended itself. Some pointed to the two-week Disney blackout on DirectTV. Yet, episodes before the debate were down only 3%, compared to a 12% drop afterward.
Davis admitted that her fact-checking of Trump was influenced by Biden’s CNN debate. She told the Los Angeles Times people were worried statements were left unchecked during that debate.
ABC News’ Martha Raddatz later corrected Harris. She noted that Harris was wrong about U.S. military presence in combat zones.