A close relationship between Vice President Kamala Harris and a top Disney executive is raising questions about a conflict of interest in the upcoming presidential debate hosted by ABC News.
The debate, scheduled for September 10th, will feature Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Dana Walden, a senior Disney executive whose responsibilities include overseeing ABC News, has been described as an “extraordinary friend” of Harris.
The New York Times reports that their friendship dates back to 1994, with their husbands knowing each other since the 1980s.
Walden’s support for Harris goes beyond personal friendship. She has been a consistent donor to Harris’s political campaigns since at least 2003, when Harris ran for district attorney in San Francisco.
Walden continued to support Harris’s campaigns for California Attorney General, U.S. Senate, and her 2020 presidential bid.
The closeness of their relationship was highlighted at a fundraiser in April 2022, held at Walden’s Los Angeles home. During this event, Harris credited Dana and Matt Walden for her marriage to Doug Emhoff.
ABC News has dismissed concerns about potential bias, stating that Walden does not influence editorial decisions.
“ABC News has built its longstanding reputation on journalistic integrity,” the network said in a statement. “All editorial decisions are in the hands of ABC News management and the seasoned journalists and producers of ABC, who hold themselves to the highest journalistic standards.”
Disney Entertainment, Walden’s employer, has also addressed the issue. They claim Walden has not hosted a fundraiser for Harris since June 2022, when ABC News came under her scope of responsibility. However, public filings show that in 2023, Walden donated $20,000 to support President Joe Biden’s abandoned presidential re-election campaign and the Democratic Party as a whole.
The upcoming debate will be moderated by ABC anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis. As the event approaches, questions persist about whether Walden’s relationship with Harris could influence ABC’s coverage — and make the event unfair for Trump.
It’s worth noting that former President Trump is currently suing ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation, adding another layer of complexity to the network’s relationship with the candidates in this high-stakes debate.