ABC denies claims Kamala Harris shared questionnaire ahead of presidential debate after MAGA furor

ABC News has refuted rumors of collusion between the debate moderators and Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign. “Absolutely not,” an ABC News representative told The Daily Beast, adding, “Harris was not asked any questions prior to the debate.”

The network also said that none of Harris’s aides had contact with debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis before Tuesday night’s debate in Philadelphia. Former President Donald Trump and his MAGA supporters have stoked conspiracy theories suggesting Harris had an unfair advantage during the event. Trump has called the presidential debate “unfair” and “rigged,” and suggested Harris was given advance warning of the questions.

ABC News clarifies things

“I watched her speak and I said, ‘You know, she seems very familiar with the questions,'” Trump told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” hours after the debate.

On Thursday, a website called Leading Report claimed that an ABC News whistleblower was “allegedly” preparing to release a sworn statement claiming that the Harris campaign had received sample questions in advance, as well as “assurances” that Trump would be fact-checked in real time, according to the Daily Beast.

However, a source close to the case denied the accuracy of these claims.

During the debate, moderators Muir and Davis fact-checked some of Trump’s more outlandish claims, including that Haitian immigrants in Ohio ate people’s pets and that abortions were performed after babies were born.

They also allowed Harris to counter Trump’s false claim that she met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, to which Trump responded that she was such a bad negotiator that Putin invaded Ukraine shortly afterward. That series of fact-checks appeared biased to Trump’s allies.

Trump and Republicans are not convinced

The 45th president and his campaign have consistently claimed that his Democratic opponent received an unfair advantage in their first — and likely only — presidential debate earlier this week.

After the debate, Trump wasted no time in criticizing ABC and the moderators for frequently fact-checking and refuting his statements, arguing that the event felt like a “three-on-one” situation.

“It was a three-on-one fight. They continued to engage in what’s called fact-checking Donald Trump. They never did that to Kamala Harris,” Republican Sen. Tom Cotton said after the debate, according to Politico.

During the televised debate, the moderators fact-checked Trump at least five times.

Harris, however, was allowed to speak uninterrupted for the entire 90-minute event.