When most people say “be yourself,” it’s usually meant in a good way. Though, I can’t imagine former President Donald Trump’s team uttered anything close to those words before last Tuesday’s debate with current Vice President Kamala Harris. But he did it anyway.
Most of us predicted Trump would have some interesting things to say, points to make and “concepts of plans” to announce, but I don’t think any of us predicted what he would actually end up saying on that stage.
Trump made claims throughout the night ranging from Haitian immigrants eating pets to governors executing babies after birth.
While the vice president was clearly prepared, even bringing up a quote from Trump himself that Harris seemed to have memorized in advance, Trump made something up almost every time he spoke.
Moderators David Muir and Lindsey Davis from ABC continuously fact-checked these claims throughout the debate, leaving Trump supporters extremely upset.
Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton called it a “three-on-one” and said, “They continued to engage in so-called fact- checking of Donald Trump.”
How is fact-checking a bad thing? It’s not. It’s the best thing that could’ve happened to this debate.
Just because their candidate got caught lying about some pretty serious accusations doesn’t mean that the moderators were out to get him. Even if it was purely out of hatred for Trump, it still doesn’t make his statements true.
Disinformation is a horrible political tool that Trump uses to his advantage. The fact- checking should’ve happened sooner and there should’ve been more of it in this debate.
Though the TikToks of people showing their pets’ reactions to Trump’s claims are entertaining, his claims have impacted multiple groups of people, including Haitian immigrants, who, for the record, are in America legally.
Bomb threats in Springfield, Ohio, have targeted hospitals and schools as hate towards Haitians increases. As a result, schools are closing.
If Trump’s claims are interrupting hospitals and schools, then there is obviously a reason that the moderators continued to fact-check him. In fact, Muir and Davis didn’t fact-check him on everything.
Trump’s former communications director for his 2020 campaign, Tim Murtaugh said, “It was a little outrageous that they would fact-check only one candidate on the fly.”
The things that were fact-checked were
blatant defamation and a claim that someone committed crimes when they didn’t. Anything Harris said that was false was out of good faith and a genuine misconception. Accusing someone of murdering babies is not a genuine misconception. It’s an attack on character.
When Trump and President Joe Biden debated in June, there should’ve been fact-checking done on the spot. It’s understandably hard to be able to do that, especially with how much Trump has to say.
We got a step closer to it during last week’s debate. At some point, there should be a fact-checking component on-screen with proven sources.
This would continue the flow of the debate, and there would be less doubt at the end. It would also help prevent incidents like these.
Fact-checking creates a more educated country. It helps viewers and listeners determine whether or not they can trust the candidate.
It’s not the moderators’ fault that Trump lied on television and attacked a group of people who, as president, he is sworn to protect. He lied to the American people.
He continues to do so with countless claims about election interference, minority groups and Harris’ plans in office, just because he can’t win anything with his own facts.
Whether it be an election or a debate, Trump just can’t accept a loss.
