David Muir has encountered a whirlwind of attention over the past week since acting as one of the moderators for the presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
The 50-year-old ABC News anchor has received a wave of adoration and new fans, most notably from the Democratic side, and just made his first talk show appearance since. The debate took place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia the night of September 10, and it's estimated that over 70 million people tuned in for the highly-anticipated event.
He joined his close friends Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on the latest edition of LIVE with Kelly and Mark on Monday, September 16 to talk about life pre and post-debate, some updates on the new assassination attempt on Trump, plus his anniversary with World News Tonight.
Kelly asked David whether he'd been fielding multiple offers for talk show appearances and interviews since the debate (which even led to him being deemed a "sex symbol" by some), and he joked in response: "I said, 'Only Kelly and Mark'."
"I can't believe we got you here, I really appreciate it," Kelly added. David has been close friends with Kelly's entire family for years, with the two first meeting each other on the ABC lot years ago. Even her three kids with Mark refer to him as "uncle David."
He alluded to it when he spoke further about the weeks and months leading up to the debate, telling the hosts: "You guys know me better than anyone."
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"I basically disappeared for the end of the summer because of the weight of this debate," he continued. David moderated the debate with fellow World News Tonight anchor Linsey Davis.
"You take it seriously, Linsey and I, and this extraordinary small team we have at ABC, and we spent a lot of time. And I believe it was our duty to ask about the issues that Americans care about."
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He alluded to the "noise" that came after the debate, saying to the studio audience: "All of the noise that you hear afterward, about which candidate won the debate, the moderators win or lose, that's just noise. You all know that. The most important thing to remember is that you all have the power."
Kelly asked David how long it took for him to "recover" from the madness of that day, and whether he'd even recovered at all, and he quipped back: "This is recovery, right here!"
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He then recalled a moment from before the debate involving his producer, describing the tiny stage and affirmed that there were indeed only four people in the room for the entire duration of the debate, while ABC producers and members of the candidates' teams were outside.
"Nobody in the room, no audience," he confirmed, then confessing that the one thing he did right before the debate was ask for his bag so he could turn off his cellphone "so that Kelly would not text me in the middle of the debate."