In the wake of the ABC News-hosted presidential debate that occurred on September 10, 2024, co-moderator David Muir saw a steep ratings fall-off. Many on the right who celebrated his ratings decline alleged that it occurred because Muir had been so biased during the debate, particularly with his fact-checks of Trump.
In any case, after Muir saw a 12 percent ratings decline in the week after his time as a co-moderator in the presidential debate, he appears to have attempted damage control. Particularly, he appeared on television with some friendly faces on the left, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, and tried to explain why he acted as he did. Now, he’s facing fire for that attempt at damage control.
During his appearance on “Live with Kelly and Mark,” Muir tried to explain away why he acted as he did, saying “I believe it was our duty to ask the issues that, that Americans care about. You know, the economy. Are we better off than we were four years ago? Immigration. What are you going to do about the border? Why did you wait so long before you acted at the border?”
Continuing, he said he wanted to press Trump on if he bears “any responsibility” for “reproductive rights” and “Afghanistan,” amongst other issues. He told Kelly and Mark, “Those, those types of questions. Reproductive rights. Afghanistan. Do you bear any responsibility? A peaceful transfer of power with the next election coming. You know, these are all really important issues, the issues of our time, really.”
Muir then went on to say, referring to Trump’s comments about Haitians in Springfield, “And I always say, as a moderator, you know, what the candidates decide to do with that time– you can ask the questions, but they’ll answer with whatever they choose to answer with. And you have to be ready for whatever might come your way – even the most unexpected of moments, as you all know. You know what I’m talking about.”
Then, dismissing criticism of his performance, he said, “I will say this, all of the noise that you hear afterward about, you know, which candidate won the debate, did the moderators win or lose, that’s just noise. You all know that,” he added. “The most important thing to remember is that you all have the power.” Watch Muir here.
Megyn Kelly obliterated Muir over his attempt at damage control, saying that he was trying to clean things up after his show’s ratings dropped like a lead balloon, saying, “He’s just playing it right down the middle. Let me tell you what that was: That was cleanup in aisle seven because his ratings are down 12 percent since the debate and… ABC News can see he is in a free fall.”
Chiming in, Megyn Kelly guest Dave Rubin said that Rubin was “culpable” for what happened during the debate, saying, “It is a brilliant way of seeing how obviously they can launder the lies. We all know what we saw at the debate, we know he is culpable for all that, and what do they do? They put him on an ABC morning show, which I am fairly certain is… under the entertainment division… so that he can just further the lies.”
Commenting again on the matter, Megyn Kelly said that the networks are already falling apart and disasters like Muir’s debate moderation are making the problem worse. She said, “None of these network evening shows can spare the losses. They are already hemorrhaging and shadows of their former selves. So, he can keep doing cleanup in aisle seven, but we know what we saw.
