Former Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a forceful critique following the nationally televised debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing Harris of sidestepping key economic issues and charging ABC moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis with blatant bias.
In an interview with Newsmax TV, Kennedy argued that the debate failed to address the economic struggles affecting millions of Americans, criticizing both Harris’s performance and the network’s approach. “The economy and inflation are the two biggest issues on the minds of voters right now, and yet Vice President Harris didn’t address them,” Kennedy said. “First-generation American children can’t afford homes. The grocery store and the gas station are out of reach for working families.”
He painted a grim picture of the nation’s economic reality, citing families forced to choose between basic necessities. “People are cutting their prescriptions just to afford food or fuel, and older Americans are downgrading ingredients at the checkout line just to make ends meet,” he said. “For the first time in our nation’s history, we’re looking at a generation of children who are poorer than their parents.”
Kennedy also accused Harris of failing to take accountability for issues that have worsened during her tenure. “Vice President Harris has been dealing with these issues for four years, and they’ve only gotten worse,” he asserted.
Beyond policy criticism, Kennedy took direct aim at ABC’s moderators, alleging that they treated the candidates unequally throughout the debate. “We had moderators who were obviously biased,” he said. “They continuously checked Donald Trump’s facts, but they didn’t call out Vice President Harris when she made false or misleading claims. She wasn’t pressed to explain her answers — even to the very first question, which was crucial. They just sat on the sidelines and let it happen.”
His comments have amplified ongoing concerns among independent and conservative voters about media impartiality during the 2024 campaign season. Many of Trump’s supporters and political commentators echoed Kennedy’s sentiments online, accusing major broadcast networks of shielding Democratic candidates from difficult scrutiny while holding Republicans to a different standard.
Kennedy’s remarks highlight the deepening frustration among voters seeking greater fairness and transparency in political coverage. As debates continue to shape public opinion heading into the election, his critique underscores a larger national conversation about trust in journalism, accountability among political leaders, and the widening gap between the press and the people it serves.