Trump’s debate playbook: Call the rules ‘rigged’ and undermine the moderators

Donald Trump is laying the foundation for a “rigged” debate on ABC News before he squares off with Kamala Harris.

In interviews, fundraising appeals, rallies, and posts on social media, the former president has repeatedly blasted the host network and accused its top talent of being biased against him. He’s even accused the network, without evidence, of providing the questions in advance to the Harris campaign.

“ABC is the worst network in terms of fairness,” Trump said during a Fox News town hall with Sean Hannity recently. “They’re very nasty, and I think a lot of people are going to be watching to see how nasty and how unfair they are.”

“Do you think ABC will give Kamala every question beforehand? We already know her liberal media cronies would do ANYTHING to keep her from getting embarrassed the same way Biden was!” Trump said in a fundraising appeal. “I’m coming into this at a disadvantage — taking on Crooked Kamala AND the Fake News — but with you in my ear, I’m NOT SCARED OF ANYTHING!”

Claiming he’s up against unfair odds and working the refs ahead of a major event is a routine strategy from Trump — one he employed ahead of his debate with President Joe Biden in June as well. And in recent days he has only escalated his criticism and allegations against ABC, which is hosting one of the most anticipated moments of the 2024 election on Tuesday.

Trump’s attacks on the network illustrate his overall approach to debates, which partially center on raising doubts about the fairness of the moderators and questioning whether his rivals are breaking the rules. By doing so, Trump appears to be trying to lower expectations for himself and pressure debate organizers into treating him more favorably. And it allows him to lay the groundwork to divert blame in the event he performs poorly.

“This is an expectations game,” said former White House press secretary Sean Spicer. “And it’s not just your opponent, he has two opponents. He has Kamala Harris, and then he has the network and hosts themselves.”

ABC did not respond to a request for comment.

Tuesday’s debate, hosted by longtime ABC News World News Tonight anchor David Muir and ABC News Live anchor Linsey Davis at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center, will be the first time Trump and Harris meet face to face.

However there were questions about whether Trump — or Harris — would actually agree to debate. Trump raised concerns about the fairness of the network, and the Harris campaign repeatedly pushed back on a rule from the first debate with Trump and Biden mandating the microphones be muted in between responses.

The Harris campaign eventually relented after ABC agreed to keep both microphones on during any heated back and forth, and will allow a group of reporters known as a “press pool” close enough to the debate stage to take note of remarks that go unheard by the microphones.

Trump told Fox News on Wednesday night he even asked for his campaign to include in the debate rules that none of the questions would be leaked to any candidate in advance. In 2016, it was revealed that then-interim DNC chair Donna Brazile gave Hillary Clinton’s campaign a heads up about specific questions during the March Democratic primary debate.

And he has repeatedly brought up the close relationship between Harris and Disney Entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden, who is a personal friend, and who has donated to DemocratsABC News has made clear Walden has no editorial input.

Donald Trump’s offensive is similar to the one he used prior to the debate against Joe Biden in June, which aired on CNN. | Christian Monterrosa/AFP via Getty

Trump’s offensive is similar to the one he used prior to the first debate in June, which aired on CNN. Trump repeatedly railed against the network prior to the debate, calling moderator Jake Tapper “Fake Tapper” and saying CNN would be favorable toward Biden, his then-opponent. Yet in the months since the debate, Trump has had kind words for Tapper and his co-moderator, Dana Bash, saying they were fair. Trump’s aides have privately praised the network over its decision not to fact check the candidates during the debate.

At the same time, Trump has a history of accusing his opponents of cheating. Ahead of his debates with Biden in 2020 and 2024, Trump suggested that Biden would be using performance-enhancing drugs, something Biden mocked before his ultimately disastrous performance. He made the same accusation against Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Trump has a history with Muir. The veteran anchor has interviewed Trump several times, including in May 2020, several months following the start of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. Muir drew criticism in some corners for his performance, with some saying his questioning was too soft and that he didn’t press Trump on falsehoods he spread, although the Poynter Institute called the interview “tough but fair and not contentious

Trump is also suing one of the top anchors at ABC News, George Stephanopoulos, who he frequently mocks out on the campaign trail. The former president filed a lawsuit in Florida federal court earlier this year claiming that he was defamed by the famous newscaster during a “This Week” interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.). Stephanopolous said that Trump had been found liable of raping writer E. Jean Carroll, but a jury found Trump liable in a Manhattan civil case for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll. A jury did not find him liable for rape. However the judge who presided over Carroll’s civil suit against Trump wrote that the jury did conclude Carroll was raped, but New York law has a much more narrow definition of rape than what is understood in “common modern parlance.”

This summer, Trump also attacked star ABC News reporter Rachel Scott as “nasty” and “hostile” during a contentious interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago.

“Are you with ABC, because I think they’re a fake news network, a terrible network. I think it’s disgraceful that I came here in good spirit,” Trump said in response to a question about why Black voters should trust him.