President-elect Donald Trump hit out at ABC News “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir during a pre-inauguration rally on Sunday, recalling their clash over crime statistics during September’s presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris.
Addressing a crowd of supporters, Trump highlighted what he called “hundreds and even thousands of victims” of immigrant attacks, arguing that crime rates were rising even without undocumented immigrants.
He then criticized Muir, who was blasted on social media last week for wearing a fire jacket that had a clothespin attached to the back to make him look more flexible while covering wildfires. Los Angeles – for his incorrect fact-checking during the debate. when the Republican claimed that violent crime was on the rise.
“Do you remember when I did the debate and I had David Muir from ABC saying, ‘No, no crime has gone down.’ I said, ‘No, no, it’s gone through the roof,'” Trump said.
“And then he says, ‘Uh, I don’t agree with that.’ The next day they announced that crime was up 40%. This guy is… this is all very bad.”
Muir, who co-moderated the debate with Linsey Davis, pushed back against Trump’s claims, citing FBI data showing an overall decline in violent crime.
“President Trump, as you know, the FBI says that overall violent crime is going down in this country,” Muir said at the time.
Trump dismissed the FBI’s statistics, claiming they omitted data from the hardest-hit cities.
“The FBI — they were falsifying the statements. They didn’t include the worst cities. They didn’t include the cities with the worst crime. It was a fraud,” he said.
While ABC News did not report an increase in crime the next day, an FBI review in October backed up Trump’s claim.
The agency initially reported a 2.1% drop in violent crime in 2022, but later revised the data to reflect a 4.5% increase, amounting to 80,029 more violent crimes than in 2021.
Muir did not address the review on “World News Tonight” after its publication, a point Trump and his allies have seized on.
The Post has sought comment from ABC News.
Trump also criticized Muir for his alleged bias immediately after the debate.
“And during the debate, I mentioned him and David Muir, a real lightweight,” Trump said in late September.
“I had one against three, but I think we did well. But David Muir of the ABC, fake news, when I said that crime is on the rise in our country, he corrected me, corrected me and so much and it was right what I said.”
Trump also alleged that Muir failed to fact-check Harris, claiming she made several inaccurate statements, including about Charlottesville.
“But he corrected me for the crime. He said, “No, no, crime has not increased.” I said that crime has increased massively. He said, ‘I would like to state for the record that crime has not increased.'”
In late December, Muir’s employer, ABC parent Disney Corporation, settled a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump by agreeing to donate $15 million to his future presidential library foundation and cover $1 million in legal fees .
The lawsuit stemmed from ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos’s false claim that Trump was “responsible for rape,” when a jury found him guilty of sexual abuse and defamation.
Disney’s decision to settle was reportedly fueled by concerns among corporates over potential legal risks and a desire to avoid a protracted court battle.
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