As a person and a citizen who enjoys the free exchange of ideas and debate, I say this with all sincerity: What happened on Tuesday night was no presidential debate. What it was, was an ambush. How can a network make a whole show out of defining rules and claiming on multiple occasions and on the record that they will stick with them, have the candidates agree to these said rules, then decide at the 11th hour, for no other reason than to help one candidate, that you will change the rules without warning?

Changing the rules 30 minutes before the debate. Sounds about right for ABC.

He had to accept this debate, but that doesn't make the bias any less absurd. pic.twitter.com/K9zLRgSClV

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) September 11, 2024

This is what ABC did, and it was the first of the many blatantly biased and partisan moments of the night, as my colleagues have covered.

ABC News 'Moderators' Made a Joke of the Presidential Debate

Kamala Shamelessly Lied Her Head Off Throughout the Debate

Kamala Wants Another Debate. Is It Because She Feels She Lost,
or Because She's Feeling Frisky?

Moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis didn't run a debate, they ran interference for Vice President and selected Democrat nominee Kamala Harris, as they fact-checked and cut off former President and GOP nominee Donald Trump. Trump was clearly pissed, and I do not blame him. While he knew there would be bias, he was at least expecting to get his words in without battling three people. It was an insult to not just him but to the entire viewing audience, who simply wanted to hear both candidates exchange their platforms and discuss policy. 

Democracy doesn't die in darkness; the legacy media has been smothering it for decades. We just got to hear some pained whimpers as they jammed the pillow down.

What happened tonight w a corrupt effort by an American network to help the Democrat candidate by any means necessary is the same problem that has been destroying our lives~~ legacy media facilitating the agenda and the lies of the American left. To them the American people are…

— Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) September 11, 2024

What happened tonight w a corrupt effort by an American network to help the Democrat candidate by any means necessary is the same problem that has been destroying our lives~~ legacy media facilitating the agenda and the lies of the American left. To them the American people are disposable. Independent voters will see this for what it was. It's no different than what the media has been doing for Harris since she was installed as the candidate. So far, voters have not bought it.

One of the overtly blatant moments of pitching for Harris was when Trump gave his response on Roe v. Wade and abortion. Trump cogently explained his stance — that Roe was no longer a federal issue but had been given back to the states to decide.

WATCH:

TRUMP: Abortion is an issue for the states pic.twitter.com/ao4RDQTGCk

— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) September 11, 2024

After Harris' was allowed a rebuttal, Trump countered and pointed out Harris' radical platform on abortion and why they want to re-federalize it. Trump named Harris' running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, as an example of Harris' abortion extremism and alleged that they want  "execution" of the life "even past birth." Trump was stopped cold and corrected by debate co-moderator Linsey Davis.

WOW. Linsey Davis fact-checks Trump in REAL-TIME on abortion! 🔥

"There is no state in which it's legal to kill a baby after it's born."#Debate2024 #DebateNight2024 #PresidentialDebate pic.twitter.com/mHsZjycCFO

— ⚡️Daniel (@TheDancuso) September 11, 2024

Trump said that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris's "vice presidential pick says abortion in the ninth month is absolutely fine. He also says execution after birth -- it's execution, no longer abortion, because the baby is born is okay, and that's not okay with me."

ABC News' Linsey Davis pushed back on Trump's statement, saying, "There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it's born."

FACT-CHECK: Babies born alive in failed abortions are real, and both Kamala Harris & Gov. Tim Walz refuse to protect them -- including 8 babies in MN that died on Walz's watch.

cc: @LinseyDavis @ABC https://t.co/L2hcMze0x5

— SBA Pro-Life America (@sbaprolife) September 11, 2024

From an August Daily Signal exclusive:

As Democrats and media outlets accuse former President Donald Trump of dramatizing the Democratic abortion agenda, data from the Minnesota Department of Health shows that at least eight babies who survived abortions in the state were left to die.

Under a 2015 Minnesota law, the state formerly was required to report whether abortions resulted in the live birth of a baby, what actions were taken to preserve the life of that baby, and whether the baby survived.

Those reporting requirements exposed that between Jan. 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2021, physicians performed five abortions that resulted in a baby’s live birth.

No measures were taken to help the first baby, who reportedly had “fetal anomalies” that resulted “in death shortly after delivery.” Two of the babies were given “comfort care measures” as they died. No measures were taken to “preserve life” of the last two babies, who were previable.

Previous data from the Minnesota Department of Health reveals that physicians have been leaving babies to die after failed abortions for years. 

So, Harris and co-moderator Davis wanted to make it appear that Trump was exaggerating. But he was not. He was spot on. Harris' own state of California is also extreme in its stance on abortion. While it does not necessarily allow for abortion past birth, the state will allow it through the ninth month of pregnancy with "exceptions." In 2022, they codified it in their state constitution. Former California Attorney General and former Senator Kamala Harris knew this full well.  

Third Trimester: 27-40 weeks

Late-term Abortion

• A fetus is generally considered viable once it reaches 24 weeks or weighs 500 grams
• California law allows abortion after viability only if the life or health of the pregnant person is threatened

Had Trump been more on his game, he could have rattled off the eight other states that also allow abortion through the ninth month, seven of them without exceptions: Alaska, Colorado, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont. This is an extreme position on abortion by any measure, and this position is strongly platformed by Harris-Walz and the Democrat Party. 

Trump was right, but while a personal media team that pretended to moderate a debate championed anything Kamala Harris said while tearing down everything Trump said, the situation was already stacked to make him look like a liar who was confused and out of touch. While I do not think it worked, in this most critical of elections, it was the American people who were done a disservice by this behavior.