The Fact Check ABC Missed on Kamala Harris
Donald Trump was interrupted five times by ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis during Tuesday night’s debate for “fact checks.”
Kamala Harris, on the other hand, did not receive the same level of scrutiny. She was able to go through the debate without facing substantial follow-up questions or pushback on some of her clearly inaccurate statements.
Since ABC failed to do their job, here are some fact checks they should have conducted:
Kamala claim: “As of today, there is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world, the first time this century.”
Fact check: Our troops in the Middle East are in a combat zone and have been attacked by Iran, which has become more aggressive in its use of proxies under the Harris-Biden administration. Several US soldiers were killed and wounded in attacks by Iran-aligned groups earlier this year.
Kamala claim: “What you’re going to hear tonight is a detailed and dangerous plan called Project 2025 that the former president intends on implementing if he were elected again.”
Fact check: The Heritage Foundation, an independent think tank, produced Project 2025, not the Trump campaign. Trump has disavowed the plan and has no intentions of implementing it.
Kamala claim: “Let’s remember, this is the same individual who took out a full-page ad in The New York Times calling for the execution of five young Black and Latino boys who were innocent, the Central Park Five. Took out a full-page ad calling for their execution.”
Fact check: Trump’s 1989 advertisement did not call for the execution of the Central Park Five. It addressed crime in New York City in general and did not mention the suspects by name. The ad emphasized the need for accountability for criminals and the importance of law enforcement.
Kamala claim: “I have not banned fracking as vice president of the United States, and in fact, I was the tiebreaking vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which opened new leases for fracking.”
Fact check: Harris passed the bill with provisions added to appease Sen. Joe Manchin. The focus of the bill was not on new fracking leases, and those inclusions were made to secure support. Manchin later accused the administration of reneging on promises and criticized the impact of new regulations on fracking.
Kamala claim: “Nowhere in America is a woman carrying a pregnancy to term and asking for an abortion. That is not happening.”
Fact check: Minnesota had instances where live births occurred following abortions, as reported by the Daily Signal. The reporting requirement for these cases was removed as part of an abortion law change in 2023, allowing abortions to happen late in pregnancy without limitations.
Kamala claim: “Let’s remember Charlottesville, where there was a mob of people carrying tiki torches, spewing antisemitic hate, and what did the president then at the time say? There were fine people on each side.”
Fact check: Trump’s remarks on Charlottesville condemned neo-Nazis and white nationalists, in addition to calling for all parties to be condemned. His comments were often misquoted or taken out of context to create a false narrative.
And a bonus fact check of a fact check . . .
ABC moderator David Muir claim: “President Trump, as you know, the FBI says overall violent crime is coming down in this country,”
Fact check: The FBI data cited by Muir has been criticized for missing information from many law enforcement agencies. The data is not fully representative and fails to capture the full extent of violent crime in the country over the past few years.
