As Trump and Harris spar, ABC’s moderators grapple with conducting a debate in a polarized country

The ABC News moderators were great. No, actually they were a “disgraceful failure,” They cut off Kamala Harris too much. No, actually they corrected Donald Trump unfairly.

Such is the contentious tenor of the times in 2024’s campaign season. And so it went Tuesday night at Trump’s and Harris’ first — and quite possibly only — debate.

In an illustration of how difficult it is to conduct a presidential debate in a polarized country, ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis fact-checked and corrected Trump four times Tuesday and were attacked angrily by the former president and his supporters.

Trump, shortly after he left the stage in Philadelphia, sent out a message on his social media platform: “I thought that was my best debate, EVER, especially since it was THREE ON ONE!”

Muir and Davis moderated what is expected to be the only debate between the former president and the sitting vice president. They asked about economic policy, the war in Ukraine, abortion, the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection and changes in Harris’ stances since her 2020 presidential run.

In the end, Trump logged 43 minutes and 3 seconds of time talking, while Harris had 37 minutes and 41 seconds, according to a count by The New York Times.

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