In an electrifying broadcast by ABC News, the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump captivated nearly 58 million viewers. This showdown, featuring a robust viewership, surpassed President Biden’s earlier debate against Trump, which had drawn 51.3 million viewers. ABC News led the coverage with 18.3 million viewers, followed closely by Fox channels and then NBC, CBS, MSNBC, and CNN in viewership numbers.
The debate’s anticipation was heightened as viewers were eager to assess Vice President Harris’s performance against Trump, especially after Biden’s less favorable debate outing led him not to seek re-election. Despite the high viewership of 57.7 million, it still did not exceed the record 73.1 million viewers for Biden and Trump’s first debate four years prior.
Throughout the 90-minute debate, Trump and Harris exchanged pointed arguments over key issues including abortion, foreign policy, and crime, while ABC News moderators David Muir and Lindsey Davis conducted real-time fact-checking. Trump’s claim linking rising crime with immigration was challenged by Muir, while a statement about Harris’s diplomatic engagements prior to the Ukraine war was corrected.
Trump seemed unsettled by Harris’s assertions about his presidential tenure and rally dynamics, where she claimed military leaders and international figures had criticized him and audiences were leaving his rallies out of boredom. Conversely, Harris delivered a comparatively stronger performance, escaping major slip-ups and adeptly handling tricky questions about her record.
Post-debate discussions were rife with critiques from Trump’s camp regarding the alleged leniency of ABC News towards Harris, pointing out missed opportunities for challenging her statements on various topics. Democrats, however, highlighted these complaints as indicators of Trump’s struggle during the debate.
As the political drama unfolded, discussions about media bias and moderator conduct took center stage, setting a contentious backdrop for this high-stakes political face-off.
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