The biggest loser in the first (and probably only) presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump was ABC News, the host of the debate. Moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis embarrassed themselves and their network by, among other things, fact-checking Trump’s statements in real time more than once – sometimes incorrectly – while allowing Harris to spout a series of lies and distortions.

Already at the beginning of the debate, a heated debate broke out on social media, with commentators from the right-wing camp in particular describing Tuesday evening’s argument as the worst and most one-sided debate in history.

There was a clear winner in the Trump-Harris duel, but I don’t think this election is over.

Some of the untruths that Harris could (and should) have verified:

1. He talks about Project 2025 as if it were Trump’s manifesto and says he will pass a nationwide abortion ban

2. Resurrect Trump’s Charlottesville comment – ​​that there are “very good people on both sides” – which has been refuted

3. Trump said he was responsible for the worst unemployment since the Great Depression caused by the pandemic

4. The statement that Donald Trump is against artificial insemination

5. Deny that Kamala Harris has ever called for gun confiscation (there are videos of her doing just that)

6. The claim that Trump’s tax cuts only helped the rich

7. And my particular bugbear: She claims that she and Biden “created” 800,000 manufacturing jobs, which is simply not true.

And there were others. Harris lied about her own and Trump’s past and was not even called out for it.

Left-wing fact-checker admits Trump never called neo-Nazis in Charlottesville ‘very fine people’ when attacking Biden

Perhaps this was inevitable; the liberal media is in a complete panic now that Harris’ honeymoon seems to be over and Trump has caught up and taken the lead again in some polls.

Harris’s pathetic attempt to avoid committing to any policy goals during the campaign failed; her refusal to give one-on-one interviews and press conferences left American voters in the dark. That’s why the debate was important. People want to know where she stands. Unfortunately, since she dodged most questions and didn’t specify the few policy goals she proposed, they still don’t have a clear idea of ​​her views.

ABC debate moderators spark anger over aggressive fact-checking of Trump and negligent treatment of Harris

That should have been the moderators’ job, but they refused. Instead, they let them babble on with Biden-like platitudes. Once again, a bitterly partisan candidate promises to unite the country. Remember that?

The moderators began by asking Harris if people were better off under the Biden-Harris administration than under Trump, and rather than listing areas where progress had been made (perhaps because there hasn’t been any), she launched into describing her “opportunity economy,” the “plan” she’s frequently touted that seems to rely on giving people money to buy a home, money to start a business, and money to raise their kids.

How taxpayers will fund all these “opportunities” was left unmentioned. This is, of course, very Biden-like – promising money to key constituencies like young people who have turned away from the Democrats and small business owners who have historically backed Trump.

TRUMP ARGUES WITH HARRIS AND MODERATORS DURING HEATED PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: “SHE HAS NO PLAN”

Trump, on the other hand, has failed to make his case. While Harris appeared overprepared and practiced with her quick-witted gestures and studied mannerisms, Trump was clearly underprepared. This is frustrating for his supporters because he has the facts on his side. He did indeed build a strong economy, but one that was hit hard by COVID. He did indeed leave the world at peace and negotiated significant new alliances between Middle Eastern countries. He did indeed weaken Iran’s ability to wage proxy wars through sanctions and limit Russia’s energy dominance by canceling the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. And he alerted the world to China’s dishonest intentions and rule-breaking; none of his predecessors had tried to rein in Beijing.

But instead of vigorously arguing about his successes, he just slacked off. And he forgot to smile.

TRUMP REVERSES THE DRAGON OF “I’M TALKING” FROM THE 2020 DEBATE AGAINST KAMALA HARRIS DURING THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Instead of patiently and systematically challenging Harris with evidence that his administration had helped the middle class more than hers, Trump fell back to his old form and again claimed that he had actually won the 2020 election.

That was a mistake, and the liberal press no doubt jumped for joy. His comments will breathe new life into Biden and Harris’ warnings that Trump is a threat to democracy – a theme that has all but disappeared from political discourse in recent months.

He repeatedly criticized Harris for her failure to curb illegal immigration, but failed to name the damage caused by the influx of migrants into our cities. He failed to talk about the large number of people killed by fentanyl because of our open borders, or the 320,000 children whose numbers the White House has lost track of. That was an easy feat and a missed opportunity.

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He, too, rose to the bait more than once. When Harris sharply criticized his rallies, saying people got bored and left, he couldn’t resist descending again into arguments about crowd size.

Trump made some good points. For example, he pointed out that despite criticism of its tariff policy, the Biden-Harris White House left tariffs on Chinese imports unchanged because they were effective. He also spoke out against the jobs allegedly “created” by the current White House, calling them “bounce-back” jobs. And he’s right.

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His most powerful moment of the evening was when he asked in his closing remarks why she had not pushed ahead with her “opportunity economics” and other plans over the past three and a half years. Why had she not fixed the border or created more jobs?

That is the question the moderators should have asked.

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