Trump advisors ‘urged ABC to stop fact checking’ amid former president’s war on the media

People familiar with the matter said that top Trump aides claimed the network had breached a pre-agreed set of rules for the debate on September 10

Donald Trump’s advisors reportedly blew up at ABC executives midway through his televised debate with Kamala Harris and complained about fact checking.

People familiar with the matter told The Washington Post that top Trump aides Chris LaCivita and Jason Miller claimed the network had breached a pre-agreed set of rules for the debate on September 10.

In recent weeks Trump has bemoaned the insistence of networks to fact-check his speeches, raising spurious allegations of corruption and bias, and even threatened to somehow revoke broadcast licenses for major networks that air critical coverage.

His running mate JD Vance has also echoed the complaints, calling out CBS journalist Margaret Brennan, for correcting one of his claims during the vice presidential debate with Tim Walz earlier this month.

Before Trump’s debate with Harris, Miller, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, said the team was told by an ABC journalist that similar to the first presidential debate which aired on CNN, there would be no fact checks from the moderators.

People familiar with the matter said that top Trump aides complained that the network had breached a pre-agreed set of rules for the debate on September 10 (AP)

However, there were no limitations on fact-checking, according to a copy of the ABC News debate rules, obtained by The Post.

Anonymous sources with knowledge of the situation told the outlet that advisers including LaCivita and Miller erupted at executives and journalists at ABC and requested that fact-checking be stopped for the remainder of the debate.

The Post reported that a complaint was made to the president of ABC News by Susie Wiles, the campaign’s top aide and at least one Trump adviser demanded to talk to the moderators during the debate.

The Independent has contacted the Trump campaign and ABC News for comment over the claims.

The day after the debate, a furious Trump demanded that the news network that hosted the matchup have its “license” revoked. Calling into Fox and Friends, the former president claimed it had been a “three-on-one” debate and suggested he would not do another.

Trump often riles up his supporters against the media in general, and has previously threatened to revoke the licenses of major networks (AFP via Getty Images)

“To be honest, they’re a news organization. They have to be licensed to do it. They ought to take away their license for the way they did that,” he said.

The former president also continues to rile up supporters at his campaign rallies against the media in general, accusing them of misreporting his words, facts, mental acuity and the size of his crowds.

Last week he threatened another major broadcast network, CBS, after dropping out of an interview with 60 Minutes. Trump baselessly suggested that the network did something “illegal” by airing an interview with Harris, and claimed without evidence that the interview violated campaign finance laws.

“I’ve never seen this before, but the producers of 60 Minutes sliced and diced (‘cut and pasted’) Lyin’ Kamala’s answers to questions, which were virtually incoherent, over and over again, some by as many as four times in a single sentence or thought, all in an effort, possibly illegal as part of the ‘News Division,’ which must be licensed, to make her look ‘more Presidential,’ or a least, better,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.

JD Vance has also echoed Trump’s fact-checking complaints, calling out CBS journalist Margaret Brennan for correcting one of his claims during the vice presidential debate with Tim Walz earlier this month (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

He claimed that the interview may amount to a “major Campaign Finance Violation” and demanded a “MAJOR AND IMMEDIATE APOLOGY.”

During his presidency, Trump lashed out at journalists as “fake news” and “enemy of the people” more than 2,000 times in his presidency, according to The Independent’s review of his statements.

He has also suggested journalists should be thrown in jail for not revealing their sources, and has reportedly privately weighed using federal law enforcement to investigate publishers.

Project 2025’s plans for a hypothetical second administration for Trump also supports defunding public broadcasting outlets like PBS and NPR, and urges an incoming administration to re-evaluate its relationship with the media, including potentially dissolving the White House press corps.