But that dream died faster than ABC’s ratings during the Trump-Harris debate.
ABC’s now-infamous hosting of the Trump-Harris debate was supposed to be a ratings bonanza, but what it turned into was a political lightning rod. With moderators fact-checking Trump in real-time and seemingly giving Harris a free pass, half of America was up in arms. While some praised the network for “standing up for the truth,” others saw it as a blatant attack on free speech—especially Trump’s.
Tim Allen, never one to mince words when it comes to his disdain for “media bias,” was reportedly watching the debate unfold from his man cave, a custom-built shrine to tools, muscle cars, and outdated gender roles. As the moderators corrected Trump’s claims about “Democrats executing babies after birth” and “immigrants eating Ohio pets,” Allen’s frustration grew.
Roseanne Barr, meanwhile, had her own issues with ABC’s approach. After being booted from her own revival of Roseanne for a controversial tweet, Barr has always harbored resentment toward the network’s apparent double standards. “They fact-checked Trump like he was reading off the back of a cereal box,” she said, “but Kamala could’ve said the moon was made of tofu, and they’d have nodded along.”
After the debate, social media exploded with calls for ABC to apologize to Trump and his supporters. But ABC doubled down, defending their decision to fact-check as part of their journalistic duty. That was enough for Allen and Barr to walk.
