Media laughs as ABC host debunks Trump’s controversial baby killing claim: ‘Already gaslighting,’ Internet reacts
During the presidential debate, Linsey Davis refuted Trump's abortion claims, stating no state permits post-birth killings.
ABC moderator Linsey Davis directly challenged former President Donald Trump's controversial claim that Democrats support abortion up to nine months after birth. “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it's born,” Davis stated, cutting through Trump’s assertion with a firm fact-check.
The moment marked a "moderate" shake-up in the debate, as it was the first time the moderators took a stand and directly challenged the candidates' claims. While some in the media centre chuckled at the on-the-spot fact check, the internet slammed them for not being neutral and favouring Harris.
Harris and Trump clash over abortion
Harris and Trump are in the middle of their big presidential debate, which is the only time they'll be facing each other in the race. Kamala Harris went after Trump on abortion, saying it was a topic that Democrats thought Biden didn't do a good job of in his June debate. “Let’s talk about the reality for women who suffer a miscarriage and are denied emergency care because doctors fear legal repercussions,” the Vice President ripped into the former prez. “Imagine a woman bleeding in a parking lot, unable to get help,” she added.
"She didn't want that. Her husband didn't want that. A 12 or 13-year-old survivor of incest being forced to carry a pregnancy to term — they don't want that," she continued.
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Trump took a page from the old-school debate playbook, "Here we go once more," Trump retorted to Harris’ criticisms on abortion. "It's simply not the case. I have no plans to impose an abortion ban,” he added.
Later on, Vice President Kamala Harris avoided commenting on potential restrictions on abortion when asked by both the moderator and Donald Trump. She stressed reinstating Roe v. Wade but did not address whether she would permit abortions in the later stages of pregnancy, despite Trump’s queries.
ABC fact checks into Trump’s ‘baby killing’ claims
On the other hand, the moderators have been diligently fact-checking former President Trump’s more controversial statements throughout the debate. They made sure to step in and correct Trump when he said that some states in the U.S. let you kill a baby after it's born, which was totally wrong. Linsey Davis was straightforward about it, saying, “No state in this country lets you kill a baby after it's born.”
Donald Trump also took shots at former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, saying he backed the killing of babies, pointing to Northam's 2019 remarks about what to do with babies that couldn't survive. Trump got it wrong and initially mentioned West Virginia, but then fixed it to say Virginia, where Northam was governor from 2018 to 2022.
“You can look at the governor of West Virginia, the previous governor of West Virginia, not the current governor, who is doing an excellent job, but the governor before he said, the baby will be born and we will decide what to do with the baby,” Trump said while debating. “In other words, will execute the baby,” he added.
Internet bashes ABC host for favouring Kamala Harris
Some members of the media laughed while sitting in the media centre after the host debunked Trump’s claims with their statement, seemingly mocking Trump. But, this attitude didn’t sit well with netizens closely observing the big debate night.
“moderators are debating trump instead of kamala LOL,” a person commented. “WHY ARE THEY ONLY FACT CHECKING TRUMP ????” another one added. “ABC is trying to gaslight the people who live in cities that are witnessing illegal immigrants EATING ANIMALS!,” a third one added. “WHY ARENT YOU FACT CHECKING KAMALA HARRIS YOU ONE SIDED idots,” more chimed in.