Trump tells Fox & Friends that ABC should have its broadcast license revoked because of the presidential debate
Trump: “ABC took a big hit last night. I mean, 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.”
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From the September 11, 2024, edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends
BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): Joining us right now on the phone to react after that very busy night, the 45th president of United States, the GOP presidential nominee, Donald Trump. Mr. President, how do you feel about the night? 105 minutes long. You've done this before. I think it's your 8th one. What is your review of you of your performance?
DONALD TRUMP (GUEST): Well, I looked at the poll numbers. I listened to Harold Ford. I don't know what he was watching, because I think he wasn't watching the debate that I was in yesterday. I think we did great. It was 3 to 1. It was a rigged deal -- as I assumed it would be -- because when you looked at the — the fact that they were correcting everything and not correcting with her. And we knew it when it was a hundred percent good coverage for her over the last month or last year. I looked at it and — only bad coverage of me, no matter what. The press is so dishonest in this country. It's amazing.
Now I didn't mind because frankly, I knew — I was pretty sure that's what they would do. CNN was much more honorable. The debate we had with Biden was a much more honorably run debate, but this was incredible. I mean, everything, so many things I said were debunked, totally debunked, like Charlottesville. Like, I could — I have a list of seven different things, and she could say anything she wanted. Everything every time I spoke, my stuff was right.
They'd correct you. I thought it was terrible from the standpoint of ABC. They're the most dishonest, in my opinion, the most dishonest news organization, and that's saying a lot because they're all essentially really dishonest. But I thought I did a great job. It was 3 on 1, and I thought I did a great job.
Now I — we sent you the polls, but every single poll last night had me winning, like, 90 to 10. We had, C-SPAN. At one point, it was at 80 to 20, and I don't know how it finished. That was late last night, so I have no idea. But it was at 80 to 20. I told that to Bret Baier. And we sent him a lot of polls, and we sent you a lot of polls this morning. And every single poll had us winning by a lot despite the fact that it was an unfair debate, obviously. And it was, it was a 3 on 1, and I — that's okay. I've had worse odds in my life.
I've had it before. But never so obvious, a lot of people are very angry about it. You know, you have corrupt news organizations. You have a lot of bad people. It's amazing in that business — in your business.
AINSLEY EARHARDT (CO-HOST): Yeah. Mr. President, we kind of expected it because, when you look at Media Research Center, they said 100% of the stories covered on ABC about Kamala, 100% of the time was positive. 93% of the time when they covered you, it was negative. So it was infuriating to watch them fact-check you and not her when she brought up IVF, when she brought up Project 2025 several times, and when she brought up Charlottesville. Here are some of the lies that she said about you. Listen.
[CLIPS FROM DEBATE]
VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: The detailed and dangerous plan called Project 2025 that the former president intends on implementing.
...
HARRIS: Couples who pray and and and and dream of having a family are being denied IVF treatments.
...
HARRIS: If Donald Trump were to be reelected, he will sign a national abortion ban.
...
HARRIS: And what did the president then at the time say? There were fine people on each side.
...
HARRIS: On that day, 140 law enforcement officers were injured and some died.
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HARRIS: Donald Trump, the candidate, has said in this election, there will be a bloodbath if this and the outcome of this election is not to his liking.
[CLIPS END]
EARHARDT: And the bloodbath, you were talking about the economy. It's a term that's used a lot when people are talking about a bad economy. What's your reaction to why didn't the moderators correct her?
TRUMP: Because they're dishonest and because I think ABC took a big hit last night. I mean, 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.
Bloodbath was referring to the economy. Everybody loved the term because as soon as they heard the word, iit's a sort of a vicious word. But referring to the economy, they have created an economy — bloodbath was the word that I used, and it was fine in that context. And they were trying to make it sound like it was a riot or something, and it was a bloodbath.
IVF, I was a leader on IVF. The IVF — the IVF, which is fertilization. I was a total leader on that. When I first heard about it, like, right from the beginning, I was one of the leaders on it, and the Republican Party has been a leader on it. She tried to say it was just the opposite.
The whole thing with abortion, what he said. I mean, it was incredible. I think he corrected me 6 times, and each time I was right.
STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): Mr. President —
TRUMP: I believe each time I was right — didn't correct her at all, and she was saying these things. She was was using, like, Charlottesville. She was using Charlottesville, and everybody — you take a look at Laura Ingraham. She did it incredibly. She had it totally debunked. She said that, in fact, it makes it angry. She makes — she gets angry when people hear about Charlottesville, when they use that. Because what they did is they stopped and they didn't put the following sentence in. And when they put the last sentence in, when it was all put together, what I said was absolutely perfect. And ABC knew that. Everybody knew that, everybody knew that, frankly. I think they lost a lot of credibility. But regardless, look, the polls are saying that I was — I won that by 80/20, 90 because I — we have one here 92 to 7.
And I sort of believe that's right. I thought, look, I've been told I'm a good debater. I think it was one of my better debates, maybe my best debate, I think. I don't know. That's why I'm disappointed in this guy, Harold Ford.
I don't know if he's still there, but I don't know what he was watching because he was just as dishonest as ABC, in my opinion.