The network hosting the first presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump appears to have a major conflict of interest.
It’s no secret that Vice President Harris has a close, personal friendship with Dana Walden, the co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, which owns ABC News.
She even credits the director for her marriage to Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.
ABC News will air the first of three Harris-Trump confrontations on September 10.
Some also argue that ABC should not air the debate, as Trump is suing longtime host George Stephanopoulos for defamatory comments he made on television.
Vice President Kamala Harris has a close friendship with Disney co-chair Dana Walden, which some say creates a huge conflict with next month’s first debate with Donald Trump, hosted by ABC News.
Harris first met Walden in 1994, and their spouses have known each other since the 1980s, according to The New York Times.
The vice president calls himself “extraordinary friends” with the Waldens.
But ABC continues to insist there is no conflict, saying that while Walden, 59, oversees 18 companies within the Disney empire — including ABC News — she has no say in editorial decisions.
Dana and Matt Walden have donated to Harris’ political campaigns since 2003, when she ran for San Francisco district attorney.
“Dana and Matt are responsible for my marriage in many ways,” Harris joked during an April 2022 fundraiser at the Waldens’ home in the wealthy Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
The couple arranged a blind date for Harris with the father of two.
Disney Entertainment said in a statement that Walden has not hosted a fundraiser for Harris since June 2022, when ABC News came under her wing.
Public records show that Walden donated $20,000 in 2023 to support President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party.
Dana Walden (right) has been close to Harris since 1994 and her husband Matt Walden (left) has known Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff since the 80s. The couple introduced Harris and Emhoff on a blind date
As Trump files a lawsuit against ABC, his allies frequently accuse the news network and its executives and anchors of being biased against the Republican presidential nominee.
Harris’s closeness to Walden is well known, but their relationship has come into even more of a spotlight since ABC News confirmed Thursday that it will air the first primetime debate between the vice president and former president next month.
The debate will be moderated by ABC presenters David Muir and Linsey Davis
Walden is the top television executive at Disney Co. and is responsible for a broad portfolio that includes ABC News, Disney’s streaming services, multiple TV studios and cable networks, and a chain of local television studios.