ABC’s Linsey Davis Fact-Checks Trump’s Wild Debate Claims Democrats Support Letting Doctors ‘Execute the Baby’

Former President Donald Trump made several claims during a response to a question about abortion at Tuesday night’s debate, earning a swift fact-check from moderator Linsey Davis.

One of the early questions at the ABC News-hosted debate with Vice President Kamala Harris focused on the issue of abortion.

Trump said he gave “tremendous credit” to the Supreme Court Justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, and said that he “believed in the exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.”

He called the issue one “that’s torn our country apart for 52 years,” and then made some claims that are not accurate, including that Democrats supported a policies that would allow “abortion in the ninth month” and even abortion after birth, where the doctor could “execute the baby” after it was born.

“Every legal scholar, every Democrat, every Republican, liberal, conservative, they all wanted this issue to be brought back to the states where the people could vote,” he said. “And that’s what happened.” This is not correct; numerous legal scholars held a variety of different views.

Davis, who was sharing moderating duties with David Muir, responded matter-of-factly before asking Harris the next question: “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born.”

Watch the clip above via ABC News.

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Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law & Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on the BBC, MSNBC, NewsNation, Fox 35 Orlando, Fox 7 Austin, The Young Turks, The Dean Obeidallah Show, and other television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe.