MSNBC Highlights ABC's Effective Moderation in Trump-Harris Debate

MSNBC Highlights ABC's Effective Moderation in Trump-Harris Debate

Moderating a presidential debate can be a thankless job, especially in the current overheated political environment. The tightrope walk of modern journalism means never pleasing everyone, and the constant peril of being accused of putting a thumb on the scales. So we have to give credit to ABC News' David Muir and Linsey Davis, who for the most part were able to deftly manage that fine line during Tuesday's debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

Effective Real-Time Fact-Checking

Particularly notable was the duo's real-time fact-checking of Trump, who has earned his reputation for a casual relationship with the truth. While not intrusive, the pair provided a more aggressive check on the former president's more outlandish falsehoods than CNN's Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, who faced a similar assignment when Trump squared off against President Joe Biden during their debate earlier in June.

Criticisms of Media Passivity

In that debate's aftermath, CNN defended its anchors, who appeared to make a conscious effort not to intervene. The network’s political director, David Challian, told The New York Times that the debate was “not the ideal arena for live fact-checking.” Critics pounced on this passivity in the face of Trump’s lies, with media observer and journalism professor Jeff Jarvis labeling their performance “dreadful,” adding that they might as well have had