When ABC's Debate Moderator Linsey Davis Linked Donald Trump to the KKK

Last month, at a White supremacist rally in Howell, Michigan, protestors showed in support of the former president. In response, the Kamala Harris campaign blasted Donald Trump for campaigning in the area which has historical ties to the Ku Klux Klan. ABC News anchor and presidential debate moderator, Linsey Davis, too repeated the Harris-Walz campaign's pitch by linking Trump to the KKK. 

Before the event, Davis discussed the impending Trump campaign event in Howell with Michigan Gov., Gretchen Whitmer, at the DNC. As reported by Fox News, she stated, "As you know, former President Donald Trump is expected to go campaign in Howell, Michigan, tomorrow. Many people are aware that a month ago, in Howell, KKK protesters marched in the streets with white robes on and suggested that they support Donald Trump. I am curious if you make anything about that connection and him going in particularly to Howell tomorrow."

Whitmer replied, "Anyone who’s doing a little bit of research might have said, ‘That’s really a bad idea, look at the optics’...You are showing up where the KKK was..." Among American hate organizations, the Ku Klux Klan stands tallest and has a bloody past. Historically, Black Americans have been the Klan's principal targets, although members of the group also harass and threaten Jews, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ individuals.

As reported by the local newspaper Livingston Daily, on the very same day that the Republican nominee was campaigning in Grand Rapids, which is about 100 miles west of Howell, there were two protests where at least twelve people chanted 'Heil Hitler' and waved banners with antisemitic slogans and the swastika. In light of the same, the Democratic campaign condemned Trump's poor choice of venue.

As reported by The Hill, director of communications for the Harris campaign in Michigan, Alyssa Bradley, slammed, "His visit underscores the core choice in this election — between a prosecutor and a criminal, someone who has spent her life making communities safer and someone who encourages violence, and someone who will build a future where all Michiganders can get ahead and someone who wants to take us back to the days of the KKK."

During the debate on September 10, Davis set the former president straight after he made the incorrect claim that certain jurisdictions permit the 'execution' of newborns. As per The Independent, she told Trump, "There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born." Subsequently, she became the target of online hate from Trump fans. Conservatives accused Davis and her co-host, David Muir, of being biased and showing favoritism to Harris throughout the discussion. Davis, in particular, faced racist and misogynistic messages on X, with trolls labeling her a 'b****' and 'nasty woman.'