{"id":2340549,"date":"2024-09-13T07:29:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T11:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/abc-news-wont-say-if-debate-was-in-kind-contribution-to-harris\/"},"modified":"2024-09-13T07:34:16","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T11:34:16","slug":"abc-news-wont-say-if-debate-was-in-kind-contribution-to-harris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/abc-news-wont-say-if-debate-was-in-kind-contribution-to-harris\/","title":{"rendered":"ABC News Won&#8217;t Say If Debate Was In-Kind Contribution To Harris"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fabc-news-wont-say-if-debate-was-in-kind-contribution-to-harris%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2340549&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The recent debate featuring former President \u2063Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala\u2063 Harris\u2063 has \u200c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dem-governor-sued-over-new-law-allowing-state-to-hide-child-sex-change-surgeries-from-parents\/\" title=\"Governor sued for law concealing child sex-change surgeries from parents.\">sparked significant \u200ccontroversy<\/a>, with \u200dcritics claiming it was more of\u200b an infomercial\u200c for Harris than a fair debate. \u200cABC News hosted the\u2062 event, which \u200cattracted record viewership, totaling\u200c over 26 million across various platforms. Observers\u2063 have \u200bpointed\u200d out that the debate was heavily biased, with accusations \u200bthat ABC failed \u2063to adequately fact-check Harris while allowing her \u200bto dominate the narrative against\u200c Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Critics argue that the debate served as\u200b an in-kind contribution to Harris&#8217;s campaign, potentially violating Federal Election \u2062Commission rules, as\u2063 corporations are prohibited from making such contributions. They question whether \u2063ABC reported the debate&#8217;s favorable treatment of Harris to the FEC as required. Furthermore, the debate&#8217;s uneven moderation\u2014where Harris received more leeway than Trump\u2014has led to discussions about the fairness of \u200dthe\u200d electoral process,\u2064 with some labeling the event as a\u200b coordinated effort to benefit one candidate\u200b over the other.<\/p>\n<p>General sentiment echoes concerns over the portrayal of Trump in the media,\u2062 accusing\u200d platforms like ABC of perpetuating a biased narrative \u200band undermining \u2064the integrity \u200cof the \u2064electoral system. The debate, according to critics, exemplified how media entities can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-virginia-lt-gov-winsome-sears-calls-trans-senator-sir-causing-him-to-storm-out-after-she-rejects-woke-agenda\/\" title=\"Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears refers to Trans Senator as &#039;Sir,&#039; leading to their departure after rejecting woke agenda\">influence political discourse<\/a> and perceptions\u2063 in significant ways.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Who won the ABC debate-ambush between former President Donald Trump, and the trio of Vice President Kamala Harris, David Muir, and Linsey Davis?<\/p>\n<p>There were two clear winners: the Harris campaign, which was enriched with a massive in-kind donation from ABC in the form of a favorable <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/11\/abc-should-be-prosecuted-for-illegal-contributions-to-harris-in-debate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">political infomercial<\/a>, and the ABC publicity department, which is now boasting about the network&rsquo;s record viewership. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;With 19 million total viewers on ABC, ABC News&rsquo; presidential debate is the most-watched debate on any Network in 16 years,&rdquo; a company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dgepress.com\/abcnews\/pressrelease\/67-1-million-viewers-tuned-in-for-kamala-harris-and-donald-trump-abc-news-presidential-debate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a> said. &ldquo;ABC News Live on streaming and digital platforms, including Hulu, Disney+ and ABC owned television stations, currently stands at 7.4 million viewers in early reporting, bringing ABC News audience to more than 26 million viewers. The debate is the most-viewed live event by hours streamed on Disney+ in the U.S. to date.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Looks like it was win-win for ABC and the Harris campaign. Or was it quid pro quo? As in, let your friends at ABC have the coveted debate, and we will go real easy on you. We can&rsquo;t say for sure that something like that happened behind the scenes, but it had that appearance.<\/p>\n<p>The result was a so-called debate that was just another in the long line of attempted Trump takedowns. It was a 90-minute advertisement for Harris in front of a record audience, and that makes it a high value in-kind donation from ABC to the Harris campaign. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>There can be no fair game or debate no matter what the score when the referees put their fingers on the scale. <\/p>\n<p>What ABC did in poorly fact checking one side while letting the other side repeat serial falsehoods meant that one side had to do its own defense.<\/p>\n<p>It robs all sides&hellip;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; Mark Penn (@Mark_Penn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mark_Penn\/status\/1833926090399907876?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 11, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The Federalist asked ABC in an email if it reported the debate and the performance of its moderators as an in-kind contribution, or any other category of contribution, to the Harris presidential campaign. And if not, when does the company plan to do so?<\/p>\n<p>The company indicated that it saw the email but did not answer the questions.<\/p>\n<p>The Federal Election Commission (FEC) defines an in-kind contribution as a non-monetary contribution to a campaign. This sort of campaign donation is limited to the same value as a financial donation, but corporations are barred from making such contributions.<\/p>\n<p>The value of reaching 26 million viewers, presenting Harris in a positive light, and attempting to drag Trump through the mud for 90 minutes, plus all the after-show analysis in the following days, is worth tens of millions of dollars.<\/p>\n<p>The Federalist asked The FEC if it is investigating the debate-ambush and what the consequences would be for a media company giving one candidate a 90-minute infomercial as a donation.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We cannot comment on specific candidates or committees. And the enforcement process is confidential, so we would be unable to comment on that, too,&rdquo; an FEC representative told The Federalist in an email, offering, &ldquo;Here is guidance on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/legal-resources\/enforcement\/complaints-process\/how-to-file-complaint-with-fec\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">how to file a complaint<\/a> with the FEC.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;Tuesday&rsquo;s ratings coup was such an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/opinion\/abcs-bias-deprived-voters-of-a-fair-debate-2024-presidential-election-trump-harris-01410617?mod=hp_opin_pos_2#cxrecs_s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unfair<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/us\/fact-checking-only-trump-us-presidential-debate-blasted-for-bias-towards-harris\/articleshow\/113275008.cms\">fight<\/a> that it was widely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/politics\/megyn-kelly-abc-news-debate-was-utterly-unfair-to-trump-vargas-reports\/vi-AA1qsV7h\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">panned <\/a>by <a href=\"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/ncppr\/2024\/09\/11\/horace-cooper-media-failed-it-its-duty-during-presidential-debate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">observers.&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n<p>While Harris has been ensconced in bubble wrap during her weeks of campaigning, Trump seems always willing go into the lion&rsquo;s den if it means communicating. You can&rsquo;t find common ground with an advisory if you refuse to engage.<\/p>\n<p>But it was too much to think ABC would deal fairly with Trump. ABC is owned by Disney, which pushes the woke Democrat agenda on viewers.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is a scene from Disney&rsquo;s The Proud Family, a kids show. This is nothing short of woke propoganda. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HuonvDcBig\">pic.twitter.com\/HuonvDcBig<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; iamyesyouareno (@iamyesyouareno) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/iamyesyouareno\/status\/1622533801996914688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 6, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>ABC, the home of the Trump-hating talk show &ldquo;The View,&rdquo; takes&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/trump-compares-political-opponents-vermin-root-alarming-historians\/story?id=104847748\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">every<\/a> opportunity to <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/trump-praises-dictators-rails-immigrants-sparking-backlash\/story?id=105725220\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">villainize<\/a> Trump, <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/trump-claims-attacks-migrants-stir-debate-announce-abortion\/story?id=108212646\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">comparing<\/a> him to <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/donald-trumps-history-adolf-hitler-nazi-writings-analysis\/story?id=105810745\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Adolf Hitler<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/biden-trump-separately-spend-time-service-members-ahead\/story?id=105017093\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Benito Mussolini<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Working as a team, Muir and Davis propped up Harris and repeatedly tried to vanquish Trump by talking over him, cutting him off, and asking bizarre questions they did not ask Harris.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Radio and television broadcasters are required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide equal opportunities to opposing candidates in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-dni-ratcliffe-releases-report-showing-china-interfered-with-the-2020-election-and-cia-management-pressured-analysts-not-to-report-it\/\" title=\"BREAKING: DNI Ratcliffe Releases Report with the 2020 Election and CIA Management Pressured Analysts Not to Report It\">federal elections<\/a>. There are exceptions for certain types of news programming, including debates. But Tuesday was more of a Democrat Party bushwhack than a real debate. Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2024\/09\/12\/fcc-chair-rebuffs-trumps-post-debate-call-strip-abcs-license\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a> for ABC&rsquo;s license to be revoked, but that is not going to happen.<\/p>\n<p>The FCC&rsquo;s Democrat chairwoman, Jessica Rosenworcel told The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3152755\/trump-pushback-fcc-chairwoman-abc-licensing-comments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Washington Post<\/a> the commission does not take licenses from broadcasters &ldquo;simply because a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-gets-pushback-from-fcc-chairwoman-over-abc-licensing-comments-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Trump gets pushback from FCC chairwoman over ABC licensing comments - Washington Examiner\">political candidate disagrees<\/a> with or dislikes content or coverage.&rdquo; She offered a quick decision with no investigation.<\/p>\n<p>If the debate had two winners, there were two losers too: Trump, who got screwed out of a fair debate where his ideas could be clearly expressed, and American voters, who have almost no good information to go on as they consider the candidates.<\/p>\n<p>The brief Harris campaign has been tightly controlled, revealing little to the public about how her incessant tittering would play out while negotiating weighty matters with world leaders. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And the legal lassos the left has thrown at Trump have hobbled his ability to campaign fully.<\/p>\n<p>This one lousy &ldquo;debate&rdquo; was supposed to allow voters to get a clear picture of each candidate&rsquo;s vision for the country. All it did was reveal the symbiosis between the Democrat political machine trying to take permanent control of our nation and the complicit media.<\/p>\n<p>America needed this conversation to happen, but ABC got in the way, harmed what remains of the democratic process for the entire nation, and should be held accountable.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Who emerged victorious from the ABC debate-ambush involving former President Donald Trump and the trio of Vice President Kamala Harris, David Muir, and Linsey Davis? The clear winners were twofold: the Harris campaign, which received a significant in-kind contribution from ABC in the form of a favorable political infomercial, and ABC&#8217;s publicity department, which is now celebrating record viewership numbers. <\/p>\n<p>According to a company statement, &#8220;With 19 million total viewers on ABC, this presidential debate is the most-watched on any network in 16 years.&#8221; Additionally, early reports indicate that &#8220;ABC News Live&#8221; across streaming platforms like Hulu and Disney+ reached 7.4 million viewers, bringing the total audience for ABC News to over 26 million. This debate also became Disney+&#8217;s most-viewed live event by hours streamed in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>It appears to be a win-win situation for both ABC and Harris&#8217;s campaign\u2014though one might wonder if there was an implicit agreement at play: allow your friends at ABC to host this coveted debate while we go easy on you. While we can&#8217;t definitively say such arrangements occurred behind closed doors, it certainly seemed that way.<\/p>\n<p>The outcome was essentially another attempt to undermine Trump rather than a genuine debate. It turned into a 90-minute promotional segment for Harris before an unprecedented audience\u2014a substantial non-monetary donation from ABC to her campaign.<\/p>\n<p>When referees manipulate outcomes like this\u2014by inadequately fact-checking one side while allowing repeated falsehoods from another\u2014it undermines fair competition entirely. As Mark Penn noted on social media: \u201cWhat happened here robbed all sides.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Federalist reached out to ABC via email asking whether it classified its moderation of the debate as an in-kind contribution or any other type of donation to Harris\u2019s presidential campaign; however, they did not respond directly.<\/p>\n<p>The Federal Election Commission (FEC) defines an in-kind contribution as non-monetary support for a campaign but prohibits corporations from making such contributions directly. The value of reaching 26 million viewers while portraying Harris positively\u2014and attempting to tarnish Trump&#8217;s image\u2014could easily amount to tens of millions of dollars.<\/p>\n<p>Inquiries made by The Federalist regarding whether FEC is investigating this so-called &#8220;debate ambush&#8221; went unanswered; they stated they cannot comment on specific candidates or committees due to confidentiality rules surrounding enforcement processes but provided guidance on how complaints can be filed with them.<\/p>\n<p>Tuesday\u2019s ratings success was criticized widely as being heavily skewed against Trump. While he has been willing to engage openly during his campaigning efforts\u2014even facing tough questions\u2014Harris has remained somewhat insulated throughout her own campaign period.<\/p>\n<p>However unfairly biased against him by networks like Disney-owned ABC\u2014which often promotes left-leaning narratives\u2014the moderators Muir and Davis consistently supported Harris while interrupting Trump with odd questions not posed towards her.<\/p>\n<p>Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations require broadcasters provide equal opportunities for opposing candidates during federal elections; although exceptions exist for certain news programming types\u2014including debates\u2014the event felt more like an ambush than anything resembling fair discourse according to critics. Despite Trump&#8217;s calls for revoking ABC&#8217;s broadcasting license over perceived bias\u2014a request unlikely ever fulfilled\u2014the FCC chairwoman quickly dismissed such claims without further investigation into their validity.<\/p>\n<p>If there were two winners that night\u2014Harris\u2019s camp and network executives\u2014there were also two losers: Trump himself who faced unfair treatment preventing him from articulating his views clearly; and American voters who left without adequate information about each candidate&#8217;s vision moving forward amidst ongoing legal challenges hampering Trump&#8217;s full campaigning potential.<br \/>\nThis singular \u201cdebate\u201d failed its purpose\u2014to provide voters clarity about each candidate\u2019s plans\u2014and instead highlighted collusion between Democratic interests seeking control over national politics alongside complicit media entities hindering democratic processes nationwide.<br \/>\nBeth Brelje serves as an elections correspondent at The Federalist with extensive experience as an investigative journalist spanning decades within media circles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":2340550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Debate123.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[36059,3896,4021],"class_list":["post-2340549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-abc-news","tag-debate","tag-harris"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Debate123.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2340549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2340549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2340549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2340550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2340549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2340549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2340549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}