Trump called out for 'desperate' executing babies lie during TV debate

By Michael Baggs (with Emily Maitlis & Jon Sopel)

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris clashed on abortion during their televised debate, with the Republican candidate’s lies about ‘executing babies’ corrected by his Democrat rival and the ABC anchor.

Read time: 4 mins

In brief…

• Donald Trump lied about babies being executed after birth in West Virginia, among other things, during the debate.
• He missed opportunities to grill Kamala Harris on her pro-abortion stance, and took her bait on crowd sizes at his political rallies.
• The News Agents say he painted America as a “hellscape”, but believe his vision will have MAGA supporters “cheering” at home.

What’s the story?

It wasn’t just Kamala Harris who had to call out Donald Trump’s lies about abortion laws during the ABC presidential debate on Tuesday night, TV anchor Linsey Davis stepped in too, as he shared falsehoods about “executing” newborn babies.

Trump claimed that in West Virginia, decisions are made after birth over “what to do with the baby”.

"There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it's born," said Davis swiftly.

The debate hadn’t been going well for the Republican candidate, but as Emily Maitlis says, it “took a turn for the macabre worst” as the presidential hopefuls clashed over the issue of reproductive rights.

The News Agents describe how he painted a "hellscape" vision of America, also repeating lies about Haitian people in the US "eating cats and dogs". False claims have been made on social media, and have been shared by Trump's Vice President pick, JD Vance.

Harris, referring to "Trump abortion bans" throughout the debate, highlighted that in more than 20 US states abortion laws are so strict, doctors or nurses providing abortions can face jail time.

"I thought that Kamala Harris, when she got the chance to respond to it, was pretty forceful in trying to just say: ‘Hang on, this is about women's lives and women having the right to choose over their own reproductive rights'," says Jon Sopel.

Is Donald Trump acting like a 'grandpa' after the debate?

What has Trump previously said on abortion?

Trump previously celebrated his role in overturning Roe vs Wade in 2022, saying in 2023 he “was able to kill” the 51 year old constitutional right to abortion in the US. During his time in The White House, he appointed three Supreme Court justices –Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanagh and Amy Coney Barrett – all of whom were firmly anti-abortion.

More recently, he has attempted to distance himself from his actions and boasts, recently claiming a potential second Trump administration would be "great for women and their reproductive rights.”

Why is he claiming babies are murdered in West Virginia?

The News Agents say his comments reveal one thing about Trump's approach to the debate, and that is his "desperation".

"It is a talking point that Trump has tried to push, to get people to repeat," says Emily.

"Even after he was corrected, he carried on repeating it. There must be a desperation if your only answer to questions on a federal ban on abortion is 'we've got to stop people killing babies after they're born'."

During the debate Harris promised to sign Roe Vs. Wade back into federal law, if overturning the ban is approved by the Supreme Court.

Trump, The News Agents say, missed opportunities to grill Harris on her pro-choice stance by relying on lies and misinformation.

"Where Trump could have been really clever, where he should have gone for the jugular on Kamala Harris, is to say, 'Come on, where are your abortion term limits? What do you actually want to sign off on people being allowed to do late in the day in their pregnancies?'" Emily says.

"He didn't really push her on that, and as a result, she totally won that hands down."

As Trump missed opportunities to score points against Harris on the details of her pro-abortion stance, she ran rings around him with criticism of his rallies – with the Republican taking the bait, avoiding topics and focusing on petty issues of no consequence.

What's The News Agents take?

Emily brought a bit of culture to the discussion on the presidential debate, comparing Trump's vision of America to religious artworks by 16th century artist, Hieronymus Bosch.

"He's sort of pushed us into this hellscape," she says.

"It sort of felt like the oral equivalent of a painting by Bosch, where you just see blood and guts and gore and heads kind of falling off, and it is the picture of hell."

However, with his hardcore supporters, it's a tactic that works.

"I'm sure that is being cheered in super-MAGA houses up and down America that Donald Trump is invoking these images of the dystopian vision of America, because that's what they all believe," says Jon.

But while that works with the red-hat-wearing, flag-waving Trumpians, how will it land with more moderate Republicans – and can it help him win when America votes in November?

"Trump's always had the same problem that he can get to 40-45% of the vote, but that doesn't win you a presidential election," Jon says.

"You've got to push on higher and you've got to reach out to moderate Republicans.

"You've got to reach out to independents. You've got to reach out to college educated women. Reach out to people in the suburbs. What was the strategy in that? Because it seemed to me that it was just sort of faintly absurd."

Listen in full on The News Agents.

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