Donald Trump was furious when his falsehoods were fact-checked live during his debate with Democratic presidential rival Kamala Harris earlier this month, but he now claims he's "too busy winning" to sue ABC News anchor David Muir for calling him out on his lies.
He "should" sue Muir for his "unagreed to" fact-checking, Trump insisted in a Truth Social post, but he's putting every moment into "winning" and just doesn't have to time.
Trump erupted after both Muir and debate moderator Lindsey Davis fact-checked him during his debate with Harris. Harris was not called out on any lies by the two journalists.
Trump was corrected during the debate four times by Muir and Davis. They pointed out that, contrary to Trump's claims, it's not legal anywhere to execute babies after birth, that Ohio officials emphasized that Haitian immigrants are not eating pets, that crime is down in America and that Trump lost the 2020 election.
When Muir noted to Trump, "as you know, the FBI says that overall violent crime is actually coming down in this country," Trump responded that the FBI statistics are "defrauding statements," without any further explanation.
Mediaite reported Friday that Puck journalist Tara Palmeri cited two sources who said Trump was considering filing a lawsuit against Muir "for publicity."
Trump, however, denied the report in his Truth Social post Friday. He insisted that while he had a right to take "lightweight anchor" Muir to court, doing so would be a waste of time because he's "too busy winning the election."
Critics got a big laugh out of that.
So much winning. pic.twitter.com/EWhonzu7wK
— The Vaxx Effect (@Delfts_auw) September 28, 2024
He misspelled “Whining”!
— Timekeeper1346 ☮️ (@timekeeper1346) September 28, 2024
Sue them for what? Asking valid questions and fact checking
— Debbie Vitro (@VitroDebbie) September 28, 2024
After the ABC debate, CNN listed more than 30 times Trump told falsehoods during his debate — a "staggering number and variety of false claims" — just as he did in his debate with President Joe Biden, noted the CNN staff.
Only a handful of statements by Harris needed "more context" or "more explanation," CNN reported. None of them were labeled falsehoods by the network.
ABC later reported multiple falsehoods by Trump and labeled three falsehoods by Harris, including that Trump would pass a national abortion ban if he's elected president (though that likely remains to be seen to be definitive). The network also deemed false Harris's statement that Trump and Korean strong man Kim Jong Un exchanged "love letters," and that no American soldier was stationed in a combat zone.
