ABC’s "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir has witnessed significant challenges to his ratings following his role as moderator during the recent presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. The debate, aired on September 10, 2024, has sparked considerable debate among viewers and political pundits alike, especially concerning the perceived bias demonstrated during the event.
According to reports, Muir and co-moderator Linsey Davis fact-checked Trump multiple times throughout the debate, yet did not challenge several inaccuracies made by Harris. This discrepancy has raised questions about the fairness of their moderation and led to criticism from conservative commentators and Trump himself, who pointed out the apparent favoritism.
Prior to the debate, Muir’s broadcast attracted approximately 7.6 million viewers. Following the event, the numbers dropped dramatically; the new average plummeted to about 6.7 million. This calculates to around a 12% decline, considerably steeper than the slight decrease reported by competing evening news broadcasts, such as "CBS Evening News" and "NBC Nightly News," which also saw reductions but far less impactful ones.
Trump labeled the debate as "one-sided," saying, "It was one against three," referring not only to his interaction with Harris but implicatively also including Muir and Davis as adversarial forces. This sentiment was echoed across social media platforms, where viewers voiced their frustration with the perceived bias, asserting the moderators had taken sides.
While Muir has dismissed the fallout as "just noise," critics are not convinced. This sentiment was expressed by various media outlets and political analysts, who argued the backlash could reflect broader concerns about ABC's attempt to position itself as an impartial news organization.
One of the key criticisms included the failure to fact-check Harris at any point during the debate, even as she made statements later debunked by political analysts. For example, Martha Raddatz, another representative of ABC News, highlighted inaccurate claims made by Harris about American troops being out of harm’s way – claims undisputed during the live event by Muir or Davis.
Linsey Davis, during interviews post-debate, defended their proactive measures, stating the pair sought to avoid scenarios reminiscent of prior debates where unchallenged statements from candidates would linger unaddressed. There was clear pressure after criticisms aimed at previous debate performances, particularly following the antagonistic atmosphere of the debate between Trump and President Biden hosted by CNN earlier this year, where many felt Trump's assertions went unchecked.
Despite these drastic declines, Muir still maintains his status as the top-rated evening news anchor across U.S. networks. Nonetheless, this recent drop raises significant concerns for the future of his show, particularly if the political leanings become more defined and alienate certain viewer demographics moving forward.
Many political observers have started drawing parallels to other networks like CNN, which suffered viewership losses after its boosterism for anti-Trump narratives. There is internal fear among ABC supporters about whether they could similarly face long-term viewership declines if perceptions of bias persist.
The debate also came amid technical problems faced by the Disney-owned network, which saw broadcast gaps due to disputes over distribution rights with DirectTV. ABC's troubles intensified when coupled with these viewer losses and online backlash.
Moving forward, the network may be hurt as audiences question whether ABC can retain neutrality. Muir’s remarks about the criticism being “noisy” could exacerbate feelings of alienation among conservative viewers and skew perception of the network’s intended role as moderate and inclusive.
ABC has continually stressed its commitment to journalistic integrity, but moving forward, the pressure mounts to balance its programming against potential biases. The ramifications of this debate performance are likely to echo through the network’s agenda and influence future productions.
Overall, the performance and the subsequent ratings decline signify not just challenges for Muir personally, but also for the broader ABC team as they navigate criticism, viewer trust, and their self-proclaimed image as arbiters of factual news reporting.
