We need more live fact-checking

By David W. Marshall
TriceEdneyWire.com Columnist

We are living through Donald Trump’s third consecutive run for the presidency, and nothing should surprise us during this year’s campaign. For those of us who are not Trump supporters, we should be used to the name-calling, lies, racist attacks, bullying, hypocrisy, corruption, and total incompetence displayed by the Republican nominee. I have Trump fatigue, and my personal decision to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris was already made prior to last week’s presidential debate. Before and during the debate, the contrast between Harris and Trump was crystal clear. The contrast was reinforced as Harris made a compelling and powerful case to the American people.

People who said they needed to know more about the vice president were given a preview of the future versus the replay of the past. Harris is no longer in the shadow of President Joe Biden. During the debate, potential voters saw a woman poised and ready to serve as the nation’s next president and commander-in-chief. Republicans are also taking note of the relevant contrast between the candidates. Former Vice President Dick Cheney, a fixture in the Republican Party’s establishment wing, made the personal decision to support Vice President Harris for the White House. Cheney was joined by Alberto Gonzales, who served as attorney general in the George W. Bush administration. Cheney and Gonzales are adding to the growing list of Republicans who see the contrast and are willing to step out publically and take a stand.

By pointing the finger at ABC moderators Linsey Davis and David Muir, Trump supporters obliviously saw the contrast from the debate in a different light. It is true that the moderators fact-checked Trump five times and did not correct Harris a single time. Trump was quickly corrected when promoting falsehoods on abortion, migrants, and the 2020 election. Therefore, Trump supporters are critical of the moderators for being biased against the former president. Trump also added to the bias claim. “It was three to one. It was a rigged deal, as I assumed it would be,” the former president told Fox & Friends. Any untrue comments from either candidate needed to be exposed and clarified for the benefit of potential voters. What they perceive as bias, others see as responsible and accountable journalism. In a post-debate interview, Davis acknowledged that the first presidential debate between Trump and President Biden impacted the fact-checking of Trump. Davis said she only intended to address worries that Trump’s remarks may “hang” there unchecked by Harris or the moderators, just like the June debate. “People were concerned that statements were allowed to just hang and not [be] disputed by the candidate Biden, at the time, or the moderators,” Davis stated.

The news media is vital in keeping the public informed and safe. The decision by the ABC network to live fact-check the candidates during the telecast marked a departure from recent debates and the first presidential debate hosted by CNN. During the June debate, the moderators did not correct false claims made by Trump and President Joe Biden. CNN’s Political Director, David Chalian, told The Washington Post ahead of the network’s debate in June that the stage “is not the ideal venue for a live fact-checking exercise.” The moderators’ role, he said, was “to plainly facilitate and moderate a debate….not to be a participant.” The ABC network and moderators understood the high stakes involved in allowing lies and misinformation to go unchecked with persuadable voters who could potentially accept a falsehood being true.

During the debate, Trump falsely claimed Haitian migrants in Ohio were killing pets and eating them. Muir quickly corrected the claim by Trump. During debates, a slice of the electorate will always be undecided and seek reasons to vote for a particular candidate. As a result, the correction by Muir was needed. The live fact-check can make a difference in voter’s understanding of the truth and a hate-driven lie. Despite Muir’s correction, Trump’s spoken words did damage in other ways. Now, the Haitian population in Springfield, Ohio, is a political target paying an unfair price.

City officials and police have said no credible information supports the bizarre claims. Yet, Trump’s untrue statements are being perpetuated by right-wing media figures and Republican leaders. This unnecessary controversy has placed the City of Springfield at the center of the national debate on immigration while putting members of the Haitian community in danger. Bomb threats have forced the evacuation and closing of public schools and municipal buildings, along with the forced lockdowns at two area hospitals, all because of Trump’s falsehoods and his racist political strategy. Springfield Mayor Rob Rue has pleaded for the misinformation to stop. “We need those that have a national stage that have a mic, with millions and millions (of followers), we need them to understand what their words are doing to cities like Springfield, Ohio,” Rue said. “What we need is help. We don’t need this misinformation.” This is what happens when the party nominee is a cult leader. The contrast between Harris and Trump is crystal clear. Now, more people, even Republicans, are seeing it.

This article originally published in the September 23, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.