ABC News moderator Linsey Davis has admitted that she and her fellow moderators planned to fact-check only Donald Trump during last week’s presidential debate. Kamala Harris, Trump’s opponent in the debate, was not subjected to the same scrutiny. Davis explained that this decision was made due to concerns over a previous debate involving Trump, where his statements were believed to have gone unchecked.

ABC moderators fact-checked Trump seven times during the debate, while Harris was never fact-checked despite making questionable claims, Breitbart reported.

Davis, in an interview with the *Los Angeles Times*, stated that the plan to focus fact-checking on Trump was a direct response to the June CNN debate between Trump and Joe Biden. During that debate, many felt that Trump’s false statements were not properly addressed by either Biden or the moderators. This sparked concerns that Trump might again go unchallenged in subsequent debates.

June Debate Fuels Concerns About Trump

The June debate between Trump and Biden saw the former president deliver several controversial statements, some of which went unchallenged by the moderators. Biden’s performance in that debate was widely seen as weak, which ultimately contributed to his early departure from the 2024 race. This outcome fueled fears that Trump’s statements might be left unchecked again.

Davis revealed that this concern played a key role in how ABC approached last week’s debate. “People were concerned that statements were allowed to just hang and not be disputed by the candidate Biden, at the time, or the moderators,” she explained in her interview with the *Los Angeles Times*.

As a result, the moderators prepared extensively to fact-check Trump, studying his past statements in anticipation of him repeating them during the debate. “Politicians tend to say the same things again and again,” Davis remarked.

Kamala Harris Avoids Fact-Checks

While Trump was fact-checked seven times during the debate, Harris escaped the same scrutiny. This included when Harris used the debunked “very fine people” hoax, a claim that has been discredited in prior debates but was not challenged by the moderators during this one.

The “very fine people” hoax refers to the claim that Trump had praised white supremacists after the 2017 Charlottesville rally. In the past, both Harris and Joe Biden had used this false statement during debates, with Harris using it during the 2020 vice presidential debate against Mike Pence. In that instance, Pence fact-checked her directly onstage, but no such challenge came from the moderators during last week’s debate.

Despite Harris's questionable use of this claim again, the ABC moderators remained silent, adhering to their plan to focus on fact-checking Trump.

Trump’s Fact-Checks Sometimes Incorrect

Though Trump was fact-checked multiple times throughout the debate, some of these fact-checks were themselves incorrect. This led to further controversy surrounding the debate’s moderation. Nevertheless, the moderators did not apply the same scrutiny to Harris, even when her statements raised eyebrows.

The selective fact-checking approach was rooted in the belief that Trump’s statements, left unchecked in the June CNN debate, had allowed him to control the narrative. Davis and her colleagues were determined not to let that happen again. However, critics argue that failing to fact-check both candidates created an uneven playing field during the debate.

Reasoning Behind The Selective Approach

Davis reiterated that the decision to target Trump was based on historical patterns. The moderators believed Trump’s past rhetoric was more likely to recur during the debate, warranting closer examination. However, this approach has drawn criticism for its apparent bias, as it left Harris free to make controversial statements without challenge.

Harris's use of the “very fine people” hoax went unaddressed, despite its history of being fact-checked in previous debates. The lack of scrutiny on Harris has become a focal point of discussion following the debate, with many questioning whether the decision to focus solely on Trump was justified.

Debate Moderation Faces Criticism

The decision by the moderators to fact-check only one candidate has sparked a wave of criticism from both sides of the political spectrum. Some argue that it is the role of debate moderators to ensure that all candidates are held to the same standard, regardless of their political affiliation or past behavior.

Critics of the debate moderation suggest that Harris’s statements should have been subjected to the same level of scrutiny as Trump’s. The moderators' decision to focus exclusively on Trump, while allowing Harris to go unchecked, has raised concerns about media bias in the 2024 presidential race.

Future Debates Could See Changes

As the controversy surrounding the ABC debate continues to unfold, it remains to be seen whether future debates will adopt a different approach. The backlash against selective fact-checking could push moderators to apply more balanced scrutiny to both candidates in upcoming debates.

With more debates scheduled in the coming weeks, the pressure on moderators to maintain fairness and impartiality is likely to increase. How the debate moderators respond to this criticism will be closely watched, as the 2024 presidential race intensifies.