ABC Breaks Its Own Rules Less Than 30 Minutes Into Debate

ABC News broke the agreed-upon rules during Tuesday night's presidential debate by allowing Vice President Kamala Harris to interrupt former President Donald Trump while he was responding to a question about abortion.

Trump began by outlining his stance, explaining that after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the summer of 2022, the issue of abortion returned to the states for the people to decide.

Harris, on the other hand, vowed to reinstate Roe v. Wade through federal legislation if elected and if Congress passed such a law.

Trump listened as Harris presented her points.

However, when Harris claimed that Trump would sign a national abortion ban, he pushed back, saying, “There she goes again. It’s a lie. I’m not signing a ban, and there’s no reason to sign a ban because we’ve gotten what everybody wanted.”

Harris did not specify whether she would support any restrictions on abortion, simply reiterating her backing for “the protections” provided by Roe v. Wade.

At that point, Trump asked the moderator to press Harris on whether she would support abortion in the seventh month of pregnancy and beyond. Harris responded with “Come on” and continued to talk over Trump.

According to the agreed-upon debate rules, the candidates’ microphones were supposed to be muted while the other was speaking. However, this protocol appeared to be ignored, particularly in Harris’ case.

Social media users quickly pointed this out.

“Why is only Trump’s mic muted? Americans are noticing,” one person commented.

Another added, “Why isn’t Kamala’s mic muted and you’re allowing her to talk over Trump during his time?!? Not surprised.”

Many also noted that the moderators dedicated a significant amount of time to the abortion issue, where Harris tends to poll more strongly than Trump, suggesting that the network may have been giving her an advantage.