Donald Trump threatens to go after ABC News' license as he blames network for his poor debate performance

WASHINGTON, DC: GOP nominee Donald Trump slammed ABC News over how the second presidential debate was conducted, during a telephone interview with 'Fox & Friends' on Wednesday, September 11.

Former president Trump faced off with Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris in a heated debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday night, moderated by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis.

According to the Daily Mail, the moderators fact-checked Donald Trump in real-time throughout the debate which ran for over 90 minutes. Trump was also reportedly baited by Harris to air personal grievances on the debate stage instead of sticking to policies, which resulted in multiple conservatives calling it in favor of Harris.

Donald Trump slams ABC News

Trump blasted ABC the morning after the debate, telling 'Fox & Friends' that he had suspected in advance that he would be treated unfairly at the event.

"I think ABC took a big hit last night," Trump told co-hosts Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, and Brian Kilmeade on the rival network. "To be honest, they’re a news organization — they have to be licensed to do it. They ought to take away their license for the way they did that."

Trump had made similar threats against other networks while he was POTUS. However, the Daily Mail suggests that it would be difficult to put his words into action. The Federal Communications Commission, which licenses some local stations, does not do so for major broadcast networks such as ABC.

Trump went on to share that his previous debate against incumbent Joe Biden on CNN "was a much more honorable one," and he was "less inclined" for another debate "because we had a great night."

The complaints leveled by the former president were overshadowed by the fact that his campaign had sent out a fundraising email post-debate with the heading, "I love ABC news." It quoted Trump as saying, "My debate against Comrade Kamala last night was a total BLOWOUT!"

Internet trolls Donald Trump for having a 'meltdown'

Netizens reacting to Trump's complaints on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) mocked the former president for blaming ABC for his performance at the debate. The following examples demonstrate the prevalent takes.

"Of course. If Trump doesn’t win at something or get recognition enough to feed his narcissistic personality, we see this type of behavior. Bottom line, is that he’s trying to make ok for his poor performance at the debate," wrote a user.

"Trump is still having a meltdown. Kamala must have truly destroyed him," stated another.

"Has Trump ever owned any failure he has been a part of, ever? Classic narcissist," jibed a third.

"Donald started whingeing about a rigged debate weeks before. He's a loser and the pathetic attempt at spinning the story is typical narcissistic behavior," echoed a fourth.

"He can't debate anyone with a pulse. He's wishing Biden was back," quipped a fifth.

"What a whiny loser!! 😂" nocked yet another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.