Linsey Davis held Trump�s feet to the fire. How she became ABC News� rising
star

Linsey Davis, an ABC News anchor, provided a showstopping moment while
moderating Tuesday's presidential debate.

By Stephen Battaglio
Sept. 11, 2024

Presidential debates are remembered for the candidates� pithy one-liners. But
in the chaotic political landscape of 2024, a simple statement of fact served
as the showstopper on Tuesday�s showdown between former President Trump and
Vice President Kamala Harris.

�There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after
it�s born,� said ABC News moderator Linsey Davis in the matter-of-fact style
familiar to viewers who watch her on the Sunday edition of �ABC World News
Tonight� and her nightly streaming newscast �ABC News Live Prime.�
Her correction was a response to Trump�s claim that the Democratic Party�s
support of abortion rights includes �executing� an infant after it�s born,
something he has repeatedly said on the campaign trail. In an era in which
misinformation spreads fast and furious, Davis� real-time fact check cut
through the proceedings like a sharp blade.

With co-moderator David Muir, Davis had studied hours of campaign rallies and
interviews to prepare for the much-anticipated event at Philadelphia�s
National Constitution Center, and were ready to counter the candidates� most
egregious statements.

Davis, wearing pink glasses while speaking to The Times over breakfast at the
Ritz Carlton in Philadelphia, said the decision to attempt to correct the
candidates was in response to the June 27 CNN debate between Trump and
President Biden, whose poor performance led to his exit from the race.

�People were concerned that statements were allowed to just hang and not [be]
disputed by the candidate Biden, at the time, or the moderators,� Davis said.
Muir and Davis divided up the topics to study, and Davis fully anticipated
that Trump�s erroneous abortion claim would come up when she questioned him
on the issue.

�That was an obvious thing to get on the record,� Davis said.
In the weeks before the debate, various scenarios were played out in table
read-like settings where the anchors and ABC News producers tested their
questions and played out the possible responses.

The critiques of her and Muir�s approach predictably fell along partisan
lines. Harris supporters cheered it, while Trumps acolytes on Fox News and
other conservative outlets said the duo was piling on the former president
and letting his Democratic opponent off easy.

Davis acknowledged that she and Muir could not nail every misstatement. But
they did study each candidate�s body of work ahead of time and had an idea of
what to expect.

�Politicians tend to say the same things again and again,� Davis said.
To prepare, Davis, a 17-year ABC News veteran, reviewed questions in her head
for weeks during her daily runs (she and entrepreneur husband Paul Roberts
have competed in half-marathons in 46 states). There was a lot of prayer too.
�My husband said a little 30-second prayer before I left for Philadelphia,�
said Davis, a Christian who has written faith-based children�s books. �He was
like, �God give her the words to say.� That�s in the Scripture. There were a
few praying for, in particular, wisdom, discernment, courage and peace.�

A cousin of Davis set up a prayer meeting on Zoom as well.

Thirty family members showed up in Philadelphia to support Davis. They held a
watch party at the Ritz. Her mother, Beverly, was not surprised at her
daughter�s steely tenacity.

�When she first learned how to read she said, �Mommy, why didn�t you tell me
these letters make words?�� she said. �There are times when I have to say,
�Linsey, this is not a news report, this is a conversation.��
Davis is set to play a critical role in the future at ABC News.

A University of Virginia grad, Davis toiled for 10 years in local TV news in
Syracuse, N.Y.; Flint, Mich.; and Indianapolis before arriving at ABC in 2007
as a New York-based correspondent for NewsOne, the network�s affiliate news
service. Her career trajectory changed when Diane Sawyer, anchor of �ABC
World News� from 2009 to 2014, was sitting at the program�s assignment desk
with Michael Corn, the program�s executive producer at the time.

�We looked up at the silent screens and there was this young woman there, and
even with no sound she had such a relaxed but focused connection with the
camera and the viewer,� Sawyer said.

Sawyer and Corn looked at Davis� work (with sound) and immediately enlisted
her to work on �World News� as a correspondent. �She is a serious reporter
who has respect for the news viewer, and you can feel that,� Sawyer said.
Davis began appearing across the network�s programs, including �Good Morning
America,� where she became a go-to correspondent for missing women reports
that were a staple of the show at the time and often ended tragically.

�An executive once told me I needed to smile more,� Davis recalled. �I said,
�Well, everybody�s dead.��

Her desire to tell more uplifting stories led to a second career as an
author. She�s written six children�s books, the latest hitting the bestseller
list earlier this year. (She was also motivated as the mother of a now-10-
year-old son, finding few titles with young Black boys as protagonists.)
In 2020, Davis became the lead face of the network�s streaming news channel,
ABC News Live.

Davis was hesitant to step into the role at first because of the network�s
wavering commitment to the service in the past. But growing the streaming
channel has become a greater priority lately as broadcast network news
divisions can no longer solely depend on appointment viewing for their
morning shows and evening newscasts.

Davis� �ABC News Live Prime� differs from the traditional nightly newscast,
with longer interviews and segments, such as a recent eight-minute package on
political upheaval in Venezuela.

News divisions have not shared the numbers for their streaming services,
though numerous executives say privately they are modest compared to
traditional TV.

But Davis knows audience habits have changed. One reason she is willing to
work across various platforms, including a daily radio broadcast, is that
it�s the only way to reach a mass audience in the a fragmented landscape.
�My parents � who are 79 � their friends say, �What happened to Linsey?��
Davis said. �I vanished into the ether, other than one night a week. My niece
and nephew who are under 30 watch on their phones and know Linsey Davis.�
Davis did her nightly streaming program live from both the Republican and
Democratic national conventions. In Chicago, where the Democrats were
gathered, numerous familiar political faces including Rep. Nancy Pelosi were
shuttled through the tiny, crowded studio in the United Center where half-
consumed meals and snacks shared space with thick black cables.

During a break before the program, Davis talked about the expectations and
challenges of being a Black woman journalist covering Harris. Raised in New
Jersey where her father owned a construction company and her mother taught
high school English, she developed an understanding of the civil rights
movement. She couldn�t ignore the historic nature of the vice president�s
candidacy.

At the same time, Davis has avoided using her platform for advocacy. There
are no hot takes or viral moments marking her career. Colleagues see her as
old school in her commitment to fairness and balance.

In the current polarized political environment, Davis had to turn off her
social media accounts to shut out people who accuse her of pulling for
Harris.

�There is a stereotype that I am acutely aware of that I can�t be unbiased
covering this moment,� she said. �And the anonymous Instagram people serve as
reminders every day.�

Davis had a friend to lean on as she prepared for Tuesday night. Carole
Simpson, a retired ABC News anchor who was the first Black woman to moderate
a presidential debate in 1992.

In that showdown, Bill Clinton delivered a knockout blow when he said, �I
feel your pain,� to an audience member upset about the economy, while the
Republican incumbent George H.W. Bush looked at his watch.

Some viewers blamed Bush�s poor performance on Simpson, saying she was unfair
to the president. She received death threats. ABC had to hire a personal
bodyguard for her. �People are always going to believe what they want to
believe,� Simpson said.

The two first met last year when Simpson was in New York to accept an award.
�She followed me around like a puppy,� Simpson recalled. �I call her my
anchor baby.�

They have been friends ever since, with Simpson offering notes about her
experience on �World News Tonight�s� Sunday edition, a program she anchored
for 17 years. Davis takes pride in being a mentor herself, something she did
not have early in her career in local news.

�For Black women there was a belief, probably unexpressed, that there was
only room for one of us,� Davis recalled. �So the elbows were very sharp for
me. I was really disappointed by that. It also made me think, if I ever have
a perch, I cannot be like that person.�