ABC News Shows 100% Positive Coverage for Harris, 93% Negative for Trump

A recent analysis by the Media Research Center's NewsBusters revealed a stark contrast in the coverage of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump by ABC News' program, World News Tonight. The report examined 100 campaign stories and found that all statements regarding Harris were positive, while Trump's coverage was overwhelmingly negative, with 93% of the reporting reflecting a critical stance. This disparity highlights a potential bias in the network's reporting practices. The analysis identified 25 clearly positive statements about Harris from various sources, including reporters and non-partisan commentators. In contrast, the coverage of Trump often included direct criticism from ABC's reporters and negative comments from non-partisan sources, which contributed to a heavily negative portrayal of the former president. Specific examples of this bias were noted during interviews conducted by David Muir. In a January 2017 interview with Trump, Muir questioned the president about his focus on crowd size and popularity, implying a lack of presidential demeanor. Similarly, during an August 2020 interview with Biden and Harris, Muir pressed Biden on whether he blamed Trump for COVID-19 deaths, framing the Trump administration as negligent. The findings from this report raise concerns about the objectivity of ABC News' political coverage, suggesting that the network may be favoring one political figure over another. This trend mirrors similar findings from NBC, which also showed a significant disparity in coverage favoring Harris while being critical of Trump.