David Muir

{{About|the ABC News journalist|other uses|David Muir (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = David Muir

| image = P20211222AS-1417 (51898637810) (cropped).jpg

| alt = Sideshot of Muir standing in front of an American flag. He is a middle-aged white man with black hair, wearing a morning suit.

| caption = Muir in 2021

| birth_name = David Jason Muir

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1973|11|8}}

| birth_place = Syracuse, New York, U.S.

| alma_mater = Ithaca College (BA)

| occupation = {{hlist

| News anchor

| television journalist

| managing editor

}}

| years_active = 1994–present

| employer = The Walt Disney Company

| television = {{ubl

| ABC World News Tonight (2007–present)

| 20/20 (2013–present)

}}

| title = Anchor of ABC World News Tonight

| predecessor = Diane Sawyer

}}

David Jason Muir ({{IPAc-en|'|m|jʊər}} {{respell|MURE}}; born November 8, 1973) is an American journalist and anchor for ABC World News Tonight and co-anchor of the ABC News magazine 20/20, part of the news department of the ABC broadcast-television network, based in New York City. Muir previously served as the weekend anchor and primary substitute anchor on ABC's World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer before succeeding her on September 1, 2014.

Since joining ABC News in 2003, Muir has reported from international hotspots all over the world, with dispatches from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Ukraine, Tahrir Square, Mogadishu, Gaza, Guantanamo, Fukushima, Beirut, Amman, and the Syrian border, among other locations.{{Cite web |author=ABC News |title=David Muir biography |url=https://abcnews.go.com/WN/david-muir/story?id=127316 |access-date=2024-08-14 |website=ABC News |language=en}} At ABC News, Muir has won multiple Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards for his national and international journalism. He was the 2024 recipient of the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism.{{Cite web |title=ABC's David Muir accepts Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, sees 'hope for future' from inspiring Cronkite students |url=https://cronkite.asu.edu/news//abcs-david-muir-accepts-cronkite-award-for-excellence-in-journalism-sees-hope-for-future-from-inspiring-cronkite-students/ |access-date=2024-08-01 |website=Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication |language=en-US}} Muir won the Emmy for Outstanding Live News Program in both 2023 and 2024 and won the Edward R. Murrow Award for Network TV Newscast in the same years.{{Cite web |date=July 25, 2024 |title=News 2024 Nominees – The Emmys |url=https://theemmys.tv/news/45th-nominations/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=theemmys.tv |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=July 26, 2023 |title=News 2023 Nominees – The Emmys |url=https://theemmys.tv/news/44th-nominations/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=theemmys.tv |language=en-US}}

Muir has become one of the most visible journalists in America.{{cite web |title=ABC's David Muir Was The Most-Used Reporter On Broadcast News In 2012 |url=http://www.mediaite.com/online/abcs-david-muir-was-the-most-used-reporter-on-broadcast-news-in-2012/ |access-date=July 9, 2023 |website=Mediaite}} World News Tonight with David Muir has been the most watched newscast in the United States since 2015.{{Cite web |title=AMERICA'S #1 NEWSCAST ACROSS ALL OF BROADCAST AND CABLE IS 'WORLD NEWS TONIGHT WITH DAVID MUIR'— INCREASING WEEK TO WEEK IN ALL KEY DEMOS — LEADING NBC BY 1.3 MILLION AND CBS BY 3.2 MILLION VIEWERS |url=https://www.tumblr.com/abcnewspr/699735275727912960/americas-1-newscast-across-all-of-broadcast-and |access-date=2024-08-01 |website=Tumblr |language=en-US}} Muir's climate reporting has also been recognized with the George Polk Award,{{Cite web |date=February 22, 2022 |title=David Muir, Clarissa Ward Among 2021 George Polk Award Winners |url=https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/david-muir-clarissa-ward-among-2021-george-polk-award-winners/ |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=www.adweek.com |language=en-US}} and the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award.{{Cite web |title=ABC Environmental Reporting Credits |url=https://dupont.org/abc-environmental-reporting-credits |access-date=2024-08-14 |website=duPont-Columbia Awards |language=en-US}}

Early life and education

Muir was born into a Catholic family{{cite magazine| url=http://gotham-magazine.com/world-news-and-2020-david-muir-on-whats-next| magazine=Gotham| title=What Diane Sawyer Thinks of David Muir's 'World News' Success| first=Patrick| last=Pacheco| date=June 25, 2014}} in Syracuse, New York,{{cite news| url=http://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/07/david_muir_profile.html| title=David Muir: Syracuse native was always on a path to the top of network news| newspaper=The Post-Standard| location=Syracuse| access-date=July 1, 2015| date=July 23, 2014}} and grew up in Onondaga Hill. Muir has one older sibling, two younger stepsiblings, six nieces, and three nephews. As a child, he watched ABC News' flagship program each night with his family and credits longtime anchor Peter Jennings as his biggest journalistic influence. He graduated from Onondaga Central Junior-Senior High School in May 1991. He attended Ithaca College, graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism in May 1995.{{cite web| title=David Muir, February 14, 2013| url=https://abcnews.go.com/WN/david-muir/story?id=127316&singlePage=true| website=ABC News| access-date=February 1, 2014}} During high school, he interned at WTVH-TV in Syracuse.{{cite news| last1=Herbert| first1=Geoff| title=David Muir's success, reporting driven by Syracuse upbringing| url=https://www.syracuse.com/tv/2016/11/david_muir_abc_tv_syracuse.html| access-date=March 5, 2021| newspaper=The Post-Standard| location=Syracuse| date=November 30, 2016| language=en}} While in college he was inspired by a professor who told him he had "the cut of a TV newsman". He spent a semester at the Institute on Political Journalism at the Fund for American Studies at Georgetown University and another semester abroad at the University of Salamanca in Spain with the Institute for the International Education of Students.{{cite web| url=https://www.iesabroad.org/study-abroad/news/journalist-making-david-muir-salamanca-spring-1994-abc-news-anchor-and#sthash.2RTd8n9R.dpbs| title=A Journalist in the Making: David Muir (Salamanca, Spring 1994) ABC News Anchor and Correspondent| website=International Education of Students| access-date=April 7, 2017| date=September 9, 2014| archive-date=August 25, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825190220/https://www.iesabroad.org/study-abroad/news/journalist-making-david-muir-salamanca-spring-1994-abc-news-anchor-and#sthash.2RTd8n9R.dpbs| url-status=dead}}

Career

= WTVH television =

From 1994 to 2000, Muir worked as an anchor and a reporter at WTVH-TV in Syracuse, New York. Muir's reports from Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Israel, and the Gaza Strip following the 1995 assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin earned him top honors from the Radio-Television News Directors Association. The Associated Press honored Muir for Best Enterprise Reporting and Best Television Interview. The Syracuse Press Club recognized Muir as the anchor of the "Best Local Newscast", and he was voted one of the "Best Local News Anchors" in Syracuse.

= WCVB television =

From 2000 to 2003, Muir was an anchor and a reporter for WCVB television in Boston, where he won the regional Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting and the National Headliner Award and Associated Press honors for his work tracing the path of the hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001, attacks.{{cite news| last=Ford| first=David| title=ABC News Anchor David Muir Reports from Iran| url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/02/abc-news-anchor-david-muir-reports-from-iran-watch/| access-date=February 1, 2014| website=ABC News| date=February 20, 2013}} The Associated Press also recognized his news-anchoring and reporting."[http://www.abcmedianet.com/web/bios/display_bios.aspx?bio_type=news_correspondents&bio_id=148 News Correspondents: David Muir] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131150712/http://abcmedianet.com/web/bios/display_bios.aspx?bio_type=news_correspondents&bio_id=148 |date=January 31, 2010 }}". ABC News. Accessed February 6, 2010.

= ABC News =

File:President Trump Visits Honeywell International Inc. (49863547766).jpg in 2020|280x280px]]

File:P20211222AS-1254 (51898075468).jpg in 2021|279x279px]]

In August 2003, Muir joined ABC News as anchor of the overnight news program World News Now. He also became the anchor of ABC News' early morning newscast World News This Morning (America This Morning). In 2006, and occasionally after that, he co-anchored the newsmagazine Primetime. In June 2007, Muir became the anchor of World News Saturday. In February 2011, Muir became an anchor for both weekend newscasts, and the broadcast was named World News with David Muir. Muir has been silently credited with a rise in the ratings of the weekend evening broadcasts.{{cite news| title='ABC World News With David Muir' Sees Ratings Improvement| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/24/david-muir-abc-news-weekend_n_935709.html| access-date=February 1, 2014| website=HuffPost| date=August 24, 2011| first=Katherine| last=Fung}} In March 2013, Muir was promoted to co-anchor ABC's 20/20 with Elizabeth Vargas.

== Early anchoring and reporting ==

In September 2005, Muir was inside the New Orleans Superdome as Hurricane Katrina hit and stayed in New Orleans to report on the unfolding humanitarian crisis. Muir's reports revealed and highlighted the deteriorating conditions inside the Convention Center and Charity Hospital as Muir waded through chest-deep water to find patients trapped inside the hospital.{{cite web | access-date = September 12, 2024 | url = https://www.dgepress.com/abcnews/bios/david-muir/ | title = David Muir | website = Disney General Entertainment}}

Muir reported from the Israeli-Lebanon border in October 2006 on the Israeli war with Hezbollah. Muir was in Gaza in March 2007 to cover the Hamas coup, reporting from inside the Gaza Strip. In October 2007, Muir was dispatched to Peru after the worst earthquake to hit that country in more than two decades.

In September 2008, Muir reported from Ukraine, more than two decades after the Chernobyl nuclear accident. In April 2009, David Muir and Diane Sawyer reported a 20/20 hour about guns in America getting "disturbing results" as described by the New York Daily News.{{cite news| last=Huff| first=Richard| title=ABC News gets disturbing results with 'If Only I Had a Gun'| url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/abc-news-disturbing-results-gun-article-1.362709| access-date=February 1, 2014| newspaper=New York Daily News| date=April 9, 2009}}

In May 2009, Muir's reporting on 20/20 revealed a significant increase in the number of homeless children in America. Muir made multiple trips to the Gulf of Mexico to investigate the BP oil spill.

In January 2010, Muir traveled to Haiti in the wake of the devastating earthquake, which orphaned tens of thousands of children and destroyed the country's buildings and basic services. More than 220,000 people died, and many others were injured in the 7.0-magnitude quake.{{cite web| title=David Muir: 27 memorable reporting moments| url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/photos/david-muir-27-memorable-reporting-moments-46029397/image-haiti-earthquake-january-2010-46029532| access-date=2023-07-09| website=ABC News| language=en}} He has returned to Haiti multiple times since the earthquake hit, uncovering attacks on women and the unfolding mental health crisis in Port au Prince.{{cite web| title=David Muir| url=https://abcaudio.com/?team=david-muir| access-date=2021-04-21| website=ABC Audio| language=en-US| archive-date=April 21, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421125725/https://abcaudio.com/?team=david-muir| url-status=dead}}

In June 2011, Muir reported from Tahrir Square during the political revolution in Egypt, and from Fukushima, Japan following the deadly tsunami and nuclear power plant accident. Muir wrote about his reporting from Mogadishu, Somalia, and his subsequent return, "Inside Somalia's Crippling Famine", for the Daily Beast.{{cite news| last=Muir| first=David| title=Inside Somalia's Crippling Famine| url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/08/david-muir-reports-from-somalia-refugees-famine-and-freedom.html| access-date=February 1, 2014| newspaper=Daily Beast| date=August 8, 2011}}

In November 2012, Muir served as one of ABC's lead correspondents for the 2012 U.S. presidential election.{{Cite web |last=Archer |first=Tucker |date=September 9, 2014 |title=David Muir: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know |url=https://heavy.com/tech/2014/09/david-muir-apple-iphone-6-exclusive-special-abc-interview/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=Heavy.com |language=en-US}} Muir's interviews with Republican candidate Mitt Romney generated national headlines on the issues of economics and immigration policy in the United States.{{cite news |date=July 29, 2012 |title=David Muir Mitt Romney Interview |url=https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/mitt-romney-interview-israel-16883436?tab=9482930§ion=16871352&playlist=1363340 |access-date=February 1, 2014 |website=ABC News}}{{cite news |last=Little |first=Morgan |date=July 29, 2012 |title=Romney unsure if he's paid less than a 12.9% tax rate in the past |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-xpm-2012-jul-29-la-pn-romney-unsure-if-hes-paid-less-than-a-139-tax-rate-in-the-past-20120729-story.html |access-date=February 1, 2014 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}

In December 2012, Muir also anchored several hours of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as it unfolded, and then reported from the scene as President Obama visited the town. Muir also reported from the movie theater mass shootings in Aurora, Colorado; from Joplin, Missouri in the aftermath of a destructive tornado; and from Tucson, Arizona after the shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords that left six others dead.

In January 2013, Muir reported from inside Iran, leading up to the nuclear talks.{{cite news| last=Ford| first=David| title=ABC News Anchor David Muir Reports from Iran| url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/02/abc-news-anchor-david-muir-reports-from-iran-watch/| access-date=February 2, 2014| website=ABC News| date=February 20, 2013}} Muir was the first Western journalist to report from Mogadishu, Somalia on the famine.{{cite news| title=ABC's David Muir On Famine In Somalia: 'It's Heartbreaking'| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/28/abc-david-muir-somalia-famine_n_911834.html| access-date=February 1, 2014| website=HuffPost| date=July 28, 2011| first=Katherine| last=Fung}} Muir and his team came under fire while reporting from Mogadishu. In 2013, he received the Edward R. Murrow Award for his reporting.

== World News Tonight with David Muir ==

On June 27, 2014, ABC News announced that Muir would succeed Diane Sawyer as the anchor and managing editor of ABC World News. Muir made his debut broadcast on September 1, 2014.

In April 2015, World News Tonight with David Muir became the country's most-watched evening newscast, outpacing NBC Nightly News for the first time since September 7, 2009.{{cite magazine| last1=Steinberg| first1=Brian| title=ABC's World News Steals Most-Watched Crown From NBC's Nightly News| url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/abcs-world-news-steals-most-watched-crown-nbc-nightly-news-1201467379/| access-date=April 7, 2015| magazine=Variety| date=April 7, 2015}}

Muir's Emmy-nominated Made in America series on the American economy is a continuing feature on his broadcast.{{Cite web |title=ABC News |url=https://www.dgepress.com/abcnews/shows/abcworldnewswithdavidmuir/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=July 7, 2017 |title=David Muir, ABC 'World News Tonight' anchor to narrate WCNY documentary 'Erie: The Canal That Made America' |url=https://www.wcny.org/david-muir-abc-world-news-tonight-anchor-to-narrate-wcny-documentary-erie-the-canal-that-made-america/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=WCNY |language=en}} Muir has brought the series to other television programs, including ABC's The View, where he has served as guest co-host.{{Cite web |date=January 12, 2024 |title=Al Roker Jokes Deborah Roberts' Chemistry With '20/20' Co-Anchor David Muir Is 'a Little Too Good' (Exclusive) |url=https://www.whas11.com/article/entertainment/entertainment-tonight/al-roker-jokes-deborah-roberts-chemistry-with-2020-co-anchor-david-muir-is-a-little-too-good-exclusive/603-2d9d8bb6-9532-4383-aa6f-a89d5bce4f5b |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=whas11.com |language=en-US}}{{cite web |date=January 25, 2013 |title=David Muir Brings 'Made in America' Gifts to 'The View' |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/video/david-muir-brings-made-america-gifts-view-18316364 |access-date=March 11, 2013 |website=ABC News}}

In March 2016, Muir released a year-long report on the heroin crisis in America winning a CINE Golden Eagle Award for his reporting.{{cite news| last=Ariens| first=Chris| title=David Muir's Heroin Reporting Wins CINE Golden Eagle Award| date=April 29, 2017| website=AdWeek| url=http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/david-muirs-heroin-reporting-wins-cine-golden-eagle-award/328078| access-date=September 27, 2017}}

Muir has moderated multiple Democratic and Republican Presidential Primary debates{{Cite web |author=ABC News |title=Hillary Clinton on Private Email: 'That Was a Mistake. I'm Sorry' |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillary-clinton-private-email-mistake-im/story?id=33608970 |access-date=2024-08-14 |website=ABC News |language=en}} and interviewed numerous presidential candidates.

During one of Muir's interviews with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2015, she admitted it was a mistake to use a private e-mail server and offered her first apology to the American people.

Muir interviewed then President Donald Trump on January 25, 2017, in the White House. It was Trump's first interview as president, five days after inauguration.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=TRANSCRIPT: ABC News anchor David Muir interviews President Trump |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/transcript-abc-news-anchor-david-muir-interviews-president/story?id=45047602 |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=ABC News |language=en}}

In 2020, Muir's ratings exploded during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic along with the other Evening News programs.{{Cite news |last=Koblin |first=John |date=March 24, 2020 |title=The Evening News Is Back |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/business/media/coronavirus-evening-news.html |access-date=2024-03-11 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite web | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/network-newscasts-keep-up-ratings-momentum-pandemic-1291263/ | title=Network Newscasts Keep up Ratings Momentum During Pandemic | website=The Hollywood Reporter | date=April 22, 2020 }} Averaging around 12 million viewers, and becoming the most watched TV Program. On May 6, 2020, Muir interviewed President Donald Trump about the COVID Pandemic.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=TRANSCRIPT: ABC News anchor David Muir interviews President Trump in Arizona |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/transcript-abc-news-anchor-david-muir-interviews-president/story?id=70523003 |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=ABC News |language=en}}

Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, Muir conducted the first joint interview with Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, then-Senator Kamala Harris.{{Cite web |author=ABC News |title=TRANSCRIPT: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris' first joint interview with ABC's David Muir |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/transcript-joe-biden-kamala-harris-joint-interview-abcs/story?id=72541513 |access-date=2024-08-14 |website=ABC News |language=en}} He has interviewed President Biden multiple times. At the White House in December 2021, Muir pressed Biden on whether the U.S. was prepared for the Covid surge.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hPlyo1JEYc |title=ABC exclusive: Biden on the state of COVID-19 in the US |date=December 22, 2021 |last=ABC News |access-date=2024-08-14 |via=YouTube}} In February 2023, Muir conducted two interviews with President Biden, one in Warsaw on U.S. support for Ukraine. Muir also interviewed Biden in Normandy during the 80th anniversary of D-Day.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7t4XJO59xk |title=David Muir interviews Pres. Biden at Normandy American Cemetery on 80th anniversary of D-Day |date=June 6, 2024 |last=ABC News |access-date=2024-08-14 |via=YouTube}}

Muir was the first network anchor to interview Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Muir later interviewed Zelenskyy in Kyiv as Ukraine began its counteroffensive against Russia.{{Cite web |author=ABC News|title=Exclusive: Zelenskyy hints to David Muir of 'plural' Ukrainian counteroffensives against Russian forces |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/exclusive-zelenskyy-hints-david-muir-plural-ukrainian-counteroffensives/story?id=89341935 |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=ABC News |language=en}}

In 2021, Muir became the lead anchor of breaking news and special event coverage for ABC News, a role previously held by GMA anchor George Stephanopoulos from 2014 to 2020.{{cite web |last=Lincoln |first=Ross A. |date=March 1, 2021 |title=David Muir to Head Up Breaking News Duties for ABC News |url=https://www.thewrap.com/david-muir-to-head-up-breaking-news-duties-for-abc-news/ |access-date=2022-04-12 |website=TheWrap |language=en-US}}

In 2021 he traveled to Southern Madagascar to report on what the United Nations World Food Program warned was the first climate-change driven famine in the world.{{Cite web |date=November 2, 2021 |title=In Madagascar, pockets of famine as risks grow for children, warns WFP |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/11/1104652 |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=news.un.org |language=en}} After the report aired, ABC News viewers donated over $3 million to the World Food Program.{{Cite web |title=The News That Caused People to Give Over $1M Dollars in 24 Hours |url=https://www.wfpusa.org/articles/news-people-give-3-million-madagascar/ |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=World Food Program USA |language=en-US}} The report earned Muir a prestigious George Polk Award for environmental reporting, as well as two News & Documentary Emmy Awards.

In 2023, he traveled to South Sudan to report on the historic flooding that had destroyed communities, leading to severe malnutrition as war broke out to the north, in Sudan. Muir's report South Sudan: Isolated by Water and War earned a News & Documentary Emmy, and anchored ABC News’ climate coverage recognized with a Alfred I. duPont-Columbia award.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=In South Sudan, a new front line of climate change after historic flooding |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/south-sudan-new-front-line-climate-change-historic-flooding/story?id=98636490 |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=ABC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Carly |date=September 26, 2024 |title=ABC, CNN and National Geographic Among Top Winners at 2024 News Emmys |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/2024-news-documentary-emmys-night-one-winners-1236012051/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}

== 2024 Presidential debate ==

On September 10, 2024, Muir and Linsey Davis moderated a presidential debate on ABC News between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, which was watched by nearly 70 million Americans. Muir frequently fact-checked Trump for making false statements, including Trump's claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating dogs and cats.{{cite web| last=Gold| first=Hadas| date=September 11, 2024| title=ABC debate moderators live fact-checked Trump's false claims from the stage | url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/11/media/abc-moderators-debate-fact-check-trump-harris-false-claims/index.html| access-date=2024-09-15| language=en-US| website=CNN}}{{Cite web |title=ABC's Matter-of-Fact Moderators Built Factual Guardrails Around Trump |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/11/business/media/debate-moderators-trump-harris.html |website=NYTimes}}{{Cite web |last=Allsop |first=Jon |title=The refs worked |url=https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/abc_debate_trump_harris_fact_checking.php |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=Columbia Journalism Review |language=en}} Muir pressed Harris on whether she bears any responsibility for the chaotic and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan, and on the economy, Muir asked Harris if Americans were better off than they were 4 years ago.{{Cite web |last=Allsop |first=Jon |title=The tragic politicization of the Afghanistan withdrawal |url=https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/afghanistan_withdrawal_trump_harris_politicization.php |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=Columbia Journalism Review |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-09-11 |title=Fact-checking the presidential debate between Trump and Harris |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/fact-check-presidential-debate-trump-harris-rcna169687 |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=READ: Harris-Trump presidential debate transcript |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/harris-trump-presidential-debate-transcript/story?id=113560542 |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=ABC News |language=en}} Muir’s and Davis's interjections sparked claims of bias from Trump and discussion over the role of moderators in presidential debates.{{cite web| last=Mastrangelo| first=Dominick| date=September 10, 2024| title=Conservatives rail against ABC moderators after Trump, Harris debate | url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4873357-abc-moderators-criticized-trump-debate/| access-date=2024-09-15| language=en-US| website=The Hill}}{{cite web| last=Bauder| first=David| date=September 11, 2024| title=As Trump and Harris spar, ABC's moderators grapple with conducting a debate in a polarized country | url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-abc-muir-debate-80459d35f25c8fd3207c558bdb7e2339| access-date=2024-09-15| language=en-US| website=AP News}}{{Cite news |last=Peters |first=Justin |date=September 11, 2024 |title=ABC's Debate Pulled Off a Trick No One Else Has Managed in the Trump Era |url=https://slate.com/business/2024/09/debate-donald-trump-kamala-harris-winner.html |access-date=2024-10-29 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}} New York Times said ABC’s Matter-of-Fact Moderators Built Factual Guardrails Around Trump and Columbia Journalism Review said The refs worked.{{Cite news |last=Grynbaum |first=Michael M. |date=2024-09-11 |title=ABC’s Matter-of-Fact Moderators Built Factual Guardrails Around Trump |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/11/business/media/debate-moderators-trump-harris.html |access-date=2025-03-18 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=Allsop |first=Jon |title=The refs worked |url=https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/abc_debate_trump_harris_fact_checking.php |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=Columbia Journalism Review |language=en}}

On June 6, 2024, Muir interviewed president Biden in Normandy. During the interview, Muir pressed Biden on whether he would pardon his son, Hunter Biden. Biden told Muir he would not.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Exclusive: Biden tells Muir he wouldn't pardon son Hunter, says Trump got 'fair trial' |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-tells-muir-wouldnt-pardon-son-hunter/story?id=110904482 |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=ABC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-12-02 |title=Biden says he would not pardon Hunter in June 2024 interview {{!}} Fox News Video |url=https://www.foxnews.com/video/6365420447112 |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}} On December 1, 2024, Biden reversed course, pardoning his son.{{Cite web |date=2024-12-02 |title=US President Biden gives son Hunter 'full and unconditional' pardon |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjwl3venz39o |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}} Multiple news outlets cited Muir’s interview and Biden’s pledge that he would not pardon his son.{{Cite web |date=2024-12-02 |title=What has Joe Biden said about pardoning his son Hunter Biden? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceql5v5v0xlo |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |title=Here are the times that Biden, the White House said they wouldn’t pardon Hunter |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5017190-hunter-biden-pardon-white-house/ |website=The Hill}}{{Cite web |title=Fact Check: Biden Repeatedly Said He Would Not Pardon His Son, Hunter |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/fact-check-biden-repeatedly-said-210800273.html |website=Yahoo News}}

Honors

Muir delivered the commencement address at Ithaca College in New York in May 2011; he urged graduates to use their voices.{{cite press release| title=ABC News Anchor David Muir Urges Ithaca College Graduates to Find Their Own Voices| url=https://www.newswise.com/articles/abc-news-anchor-david-muir-urges-ithaca-college-graduates-to-find-their-own-voices| date=May 23, 2011| publisher=Ithaca College| access-date=July 9, 2023| via=News Wise}} On March 13, 2015, the college awarded Muir, an alumnus, an honorary Doctor of Letters degree and the Jessica Savitch Award of Distinction for Excellence in Journalism.{{cite web| last=Rochon| first=Thomas| date=March 17, 2015| title=David Muir '95 Receives Honorary Degree| website=Ithaca College| url=https://www.ithaca.edu/rhp/news/david-muir-95-receives-honorary-degree-39377/| url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329012753/https://www.ithaca.edu/rhp/news/david-muir-95-receives-honorary-degree-39377/| archive-date=March 29, 2015| access-date=October 28, 2020}}
In 2012, Muir was awarded an Edward R. Murrow for Hard News Reporting for A Cry For Help: Famine in Somalia.
In 2013, TV Week called Muir one of the "12 to Watch in TV News".{{cite news| title=12 to Watch in TV News| url=http://www.tvweek.com/np51_22pger_LR.pdf| access-date=February 1, 2014| newspaper=TV Week| date=December 17, 2012| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207020352/http://www.tvweek.com/np51_22pger_LR.pdf| archive-date=December 7, 2013| df=mdy-all}} He was listed as one of People's Sexiest Men Alive in 2014.{{cite web| last=Connor| first=Jackson| date=November 20, 2014| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/20/abc-news-people-sexiest-men-alive-list-strahan-tebow-muir_n_6187712.html| title=ABC News Dominates People Magazine's 'Sexiest Men Alive' List| newspaper=HuffPost| access-date=November 22, 2014}}
On May 8, 2015, Muir delivered the commencement address at Northeastern University in Massachusetts. During the ceremony, he was given an honorary Doctor of Media degree.{{cite web | date=April 13, 2015| title=Award-winning journalist David Muir to deliver Northeastern University's 2015 Commencement address| url=https://news.northeastern.edu/2015/04/13/award-winning-journalist-david-muir-to-deliver-northeastern-universitys-2015-commencement-address/| access-date=October 28, 2020| website=Northeastern Global News| language=en-US}}
In 2017, Muir's reporting for 20/20 "Heroin: Breaking Point in America" on the heroin epidemic won a CINE Golden Eagle Award in the News Program/Continuing Coverage category.{{Cite web |last=Ariens |first=Chris |date=April 29, 2017 |title=David Muir's Heroin Reporting Wins CINE Golden Eagle Award |url=https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/david-muirs-heroin-reporting-wins-cine-golden-eagle-award/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |language=en-US}}
Muir moderated a town hall with President Barack Obama on race and policing after a series of police-involved shootings in the summer of 2016, winning a News & Documentary Emmy.{{Cite web |last=Patten |first=Dominic |date=July 15, 2016 |title=Obama-ABC Town Hall Ratings OK, But 'Big Brother' Wins Night In Demo |url=https://deadline.com/2016/07/barack-obama-townhall-ratings-big-brother-the-big-bang-theory-abc-cbs-1201787238/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Hutcheson |first=Susannah |title=How I became the anchor of ABC "World News Tonight": David Muir |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/careers/2019/09/03/how-david-muir-became-anchor-abc-world-news-tonight/2157758001/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}
On May 12, 2018, Muir delivered the commencement address at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin.{{cite web| last=Erickson| first=Doug| date=February 21, 2018| title=ABC News' David Muir, America's most-watched anchor, to be spring commencement speaker| url=https://news.wisc.edu/abc-news-david-muir-americas-most-watched-anchor-to-be-spring-commencement-speaker/| access-date=October 28, 2020| website=University of Wisconsin News| language=en-US}}
In 2018, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir received the RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Award for TV Network Newscast, for their coverage of the Santa Rosa wildfires.{{Cite web |title=First Amendment Awards – Radio Television Digital News Association |url=https://www.rtdna.org/first-amendment-awards |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=www.rtdna.org}}
Muir's live reporting from Panama City Beach, Florida later that year, as Hurricane Michael hit the panhandle as a category 5 storm won a News & Documentary Emmy for breaking news.{{Cite web |date=July 25, 2019 |title=NOMINEES FOR THE 40th ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY® AWARDS ANNOUNCED – The Emmys |url=https://theemmys.tv/news-and-documentary-40th-nominees/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=theemmys.tv |language=en-US}}
In 2019, Muir would win another Emmy for his reporting on the Las Vegas shooting for ABC's 20/20.{{Cite web |date=September 27, 2018 |title=News – The Emmys |url=https://theemmys.tv/news/nominees/news/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=theemmys.tv |language=en-US}}
In 2020, Muir traveled to the Auschwitz concentration camp with a group of survivors who had been imprisoned at the camp as children. That report earned him a News & Documentary Emmy a year later.{{Cite web |date=July 26, 2021 |title=News 2021 Nominees (News) – The Emmys |url=https://theemmys.tv/news/42nd-nominations/news/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=theemmys.tv |language=en-US}}
On May 15, 2022, Muir delivered the commencement address at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York.{{cite news| date=April 21, 2022| title=Syracuse Native David Muir, Anchor of 'ABC World News Tonight with David Muir,' to Address Syracuse University Graduates at Commencement 2022| website=Syracuse University News| url=https://news.syr.edu/blog/2022/04/21/syracuse-native-david-muir-anchor-of-abc-world-news-tonight-with-david-muir-to-address-syracuse-university-graduates-at-commencement-2022/| access-date=2022-05-15| language=en-US}}
In 2022, Muir's reporting on climate change-driven famine in Madagascar earned him a prestigious George Polk Award and a News & Documentary Emmy for environmental journalism. The report was also part of ABC World News Tonight's Emmy win for continuing coverage on the climate crisis.{{Cite web |title='ABC World News Tonight' anchor David Muir to receive 40th Cronkite Award |url=https://cronkite.asu.edu/news/2023/abc-world-news-tonight-anchor-david-muir-to-receive-40th-cronkite-award/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=July 28, 2022 |title=News 2022 Nominees – The Emmys |url=https://theemmys.tv/news/43rd-nominations/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=theemmys.tv |language=en-US}}
On September 19, 2023, Muir was named the winner of the 40th Cronkite Award by Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.{{cite news |date=September 19, 2023 |title='ABC World News' anchor David Muir chosen for Arizona State University's Cronkite Award |url=https://apnews.com/article/asu-cronkite-award-david-muir-52b9683d29d9757cfcd4564d24868fa3 |access-date=February 8, 2024 |work=Associated Press}}
On January 25, 2024, Muir and ABC News were recognized with a Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Silver Baton Award for Environmental Reporting. Later that same year, his climate reporting from South Sudan earned him a News & Documentary Emmy.{{Cite news |title=Climate Reporting, War Documentaries and More Honored at the 2024 duPont-Columbia Awards Ceremony |url=https://journalism.columbia.edu/news/dupont-ceremony-2024 |work=journalism.columbia.edu}}
Muir has received multiple News and Documentary Emmy Awards and Edward R. Murrow Awards for his reports. On September 27, 2023, Muir was awarded a News & Documentary Emmy for Outstanding Live News Program and an RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Award for TV Network Newscast. In 2024, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir received both awards for the second year in a row.{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=Michael |date=September 28, 2023 |title=News & Documentary Emmys 2023: Full Winners List |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/awards/emmys-news-documentary-winners-2023-wolf-blitzer-barbara-kopple-1235738429/ |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}