It looks like David Muir’s turn as presidential debate moderator didn’t win him any new fans. In fact, his heavily criticized performance appears to have been a ratings killer.
Muir anchors ABC World News Tonight, and the nightly news program has seen its viewership slide some 12 percent in the wake of last Tuesday’s debate. Perhaps that is why Muir is now attempting to do some cleanup by sitting down with friendly faces like Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos.
On Tuesday’s show, Megyn was joined by Dave Rubin, host of The Rubin Report, to discuss Muir’s disastrous debate moderation and the fallout.
Downward Spiral
The ABC News debate may have drawn some 67 million viewers, but the network has faced nothing but headaches since. “ABC News is spiraling at the moment because there has been so much negative feedback as a result of that debate,” Megyn noted. “Fair-minded people know what they did and just how biased and one-sided it was.”
In addition to the bombshell accusations of journalistic malfeasance from an alleged whistleblower, viewers seem to be voicing their frustration with their remotes. Muir’s World News Tonight averaged 6.7 million viewers on the three days following the debate, which is about one million less than he had been averaging in the lead-up to the event.
While the program remains the number one evening newscast on broadcast television, the 12 percent ratings drop was higher than the more negligible declines CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News saw over the same period.
Muir’s Redemption Tour?
Perhaps recognizing the blowback won’t be going away any time soon, Muir made an appearance on another ABC program on Monday to talk about the debate. He sat down with Ripa and Consuelos, whom he is known to be friendly with, on Live with Kelly and Mark to discuss the significance of the work he and his co-moderator Linsey Davis did last week.
MUIR: I believe it was our duty to ask the issues that, that Americans care about. You know, the economy. Are we better off than we were four years ago? Immigration. What are you going to do about the border? Why did you wait so long before you acted at the border? Those, those types of questions. Reproductive rights. Afghanistan. Do you bear any responsibility? A peaceful transfer of power with the next election coming. You know, these are all really important issues, the issues of our time, really.
He went on to give a not-so-subtle nod to Trump’s now-viral comment about reports of Haitian migrants eating pets and wildlife in Springfield, OH. “And I always say, as a moderator, you know, what the candidates decide to do with that time– you can ask the questions, but they’ll answer with whatever they choose to answer with,” he said. “And you have to be ready for whatever might come your way – even the most unexpected of moments, as you all know. You know what I’m talking about.”
Ultimately, Muir dismissed any criticism as a distraction. “I will say this, all of the noise that you hear afterward about, you know, which candidate won the debate, did the moderators win or lose, that’s just noise. You all know that,” he added. “The most important thing to remember is that you all have the power.”
‘Cleanup in Aisle 7’
Megyn found Muir’s sober tone and message ironic. “He’s just playing it right down the middle,” she quipped. “Let me tell you what that was: That was cleanup in aisle seven because his ratings are down 12 percent since the debate and… ABC News can see he is in a free fall.”
Rubin said the interview did nothing but further expose Muir and the network. “It is a brilliant way of seeing how obviously they can launder the lies,” he noted. “We all know what we saw at the debate, we know he is culpable for all that, and what do they do? They put him on an ABC morning show, which I am fairly certain is… under the entertainment division… so that he can just further the lies.”
In Megyn’s view, a friendly interview isn’t going to repair the damage. “None of these network evening shows can spare the losses. They are already hemorrhaging and shadows of their former selves,” she concluded. “So, he can keep doing cleanup in aisle seven, but we know what we saw.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Rubin by tuning in to episode 892 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.