(Rightallegiance.com) – Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., criticized ABC News for not challenging Vice President Kamala Harris’ comments about U.S. military personnel during a recent presidential debate. Cotton argued that Harris falsely claimed there were no U.S. troops in active combat zones, and he accused the media outlet of aligning with her campaign by failing to fact-check the statement.
Cotton took to social media platform X on Tuesday to express his outrage, stating, “ABC allowing Kamala Harris to say ‘no U.S. troops are in combat zones’ without any pushback or fact-checking is outrageous. This goes beyond bias—it’s a media company effectively joining the Harris campaign.” His remarks referred to Harris’ assertion during the debate that, “There is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world, the first time this century.”
During the debate, ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis fact-checked former President Donald Trump on several occasions but did not address Harris’ claim at the time. However, ABC News’ Martha Raddatz later acknowledged that their fact-checking team found Harris’ statement to be inaccurate. “There are currently 900 U.S. military personnel in Syria, 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq. All have been under regular threat from drones and missiles for months. We also have action in the Red Sea. Also, every single day, the Navy SEALs, Delta Forces special operators can be part of any sort of deadly raid,” Raddatz stated during a segment.
The controversy reignited after Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., shared footage of American soldiers under fire in the Middle East on X, arguing that it directly contradicted Harris’ claim. “These attacks occurred within the last couple of weeks/months,” Banks wrote. He also accused Harris of misleading the public during the debate, stating, “Reminder, Kamala Harris lied to the entire world last week when she said that we currently have no active duty troops deployed in war zones! Unfit to lead!”
Cotton echoed these sentiments during an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” He told host Maria Bartiromo that Harris’ statement was a blatant falsehood. “I don’t know where those two moderators were fact-checking Kamala Harris with that lie… I guess they were busy wrongly fact-checking President Trump.” Cotton further suggested that Harris’ comments would come as a “surprise to the thousands of troops we still have in places like Iraq and Syria that are getting repeatedly hit by mortars and drones by Iranian-backed terrorists.”
Cotton also linked the ongoing threats to U.S. troops in the Middle East to the Biden administration’s foreign policy, accusing them of appeasing Iran. He argued that this has emboldened the Iranian regime, leading to increased attacks on U.S. personnel.
The issue of fact-checking in presidential debates has once again come under scrutiny, with critics like Cotton and Banks arguing that the media is selective in its efforts, particularly when it comes to high-profile political figures. Harris’ statement, they claim, downplays the reality of U.S. military involvement in conflict zones and misleads the American public about the risks faced by service members.