Disney honcho Dana Walden dismisses notion her close friendship with Kamala Harris affected debate
‘I really don’t want to dignify it with much of a response,’ Walden said outside the Emmy Awards
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Disney honcho Dana Walden on Sunday dismissed concerns that her close friendship with Vice President Kamala Harris resulted in a biased ABC Presidential Debate.
Walden, a senior Disney executive whose portfolio includes ABC News, is one of Harris' "extraordinary friends," according to a report in the New York Times. Walden and Harris have known each other since 1994, while their husbands, Matt Walden and Doug Emhoff, have known each other since the 1980s.
There has been a harsh spotlight on ABC on the heels of last week’s debate, when former President Trump was repeatedly fact-checked while Harris was not. When Walden attended the Emmy Awards, a reporter from Variety asked her about attacks from the "far-right" who have said her close friendship with Harris affected the debate.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You know I really don’t want to dignify it with much of a response," Walden said.
Kamala Harris / Dana Walden (Getty Images)
"I have the highest regard for everyone at ABC News. It’s the most professional organization, the most top-notch journalists," she continued. "It doesn’t really dignify much of a response."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis fact-checked Trump five times without ever correcting Harris. Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt wrote that the "journalistic reputations of Muir and Davis are the most scarred by the fiasco," but "the damage will extend to both the ABC and Disney brands" because the moderators failed to ask more critical questions of Harris.
Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell said on "The Brent Bozell Show" podcast that Harris had a clear advantage that should have been apparent after his researchers found that ABC’s evening newscast has been more "positive towards Harris and the most hostile to Trump" compared to evening newscasts on NBC and CBS.
"Whoever recommended that [Trump] do that debate on ABC should be fired. It was about the worst decision that could have been made," Bozell said on Wednesday when discussing what he feels are the Disney-owned network’s biases.
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US Vice President Kamala Harris during the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America sent a letter to ABC News president Almin Karamehmedovic, along with Muir and Davis, urging the network to issue a correction about a "100% inaccurate" abortion claim made during the debate during one of the fact-checks on Trump.
Walden has donated to dozens of Democrats and has contributed to Harris’ political campaigns since at least 2003.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Last month, Walden was described as a "Hollywood winner" in the rapid ascension of Harris to de facto Democratic nominee, according to a Puck report. Harris has extensive ties to the entertainment community, but few "go as far back with Harris as Walden does, nor do they enjoy the perch and purview Walden does at Disney," the report said.
ABC previously told the New York Times that Walden, who is Disney’s highest-ranking television executive, does not weigh in on editorial decisions.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Walden is among the insider candidates who could take over as the next Disney CEO when Bob Iger's contract expires in 2026, according to reports, and her coziness with a possible future president likely doesn't hurt her stock.
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Fox News Digital's Kendall Tietz contributed to this report.