On June 8, ABC News “suspended” the employment of Terry Moran, a network correspondent, after he criticized deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller.
On the social media post, which has since been deleted, Moran referred to both Trump and Miller as “world-class” haters.
Unusually, the Vice President, JD Vance, weighed in to condemn the criticism made by one journalist.
An ABC News spokeswoman said on Sunday that Mr. Moran “has been suspended pending further evaluation.”
“ABC News stands for objectivity and impartiality in its news coverage and does not condone subjective personal attacks on others,” the network said in a statement. “The post does not reflect the views of ABC News and violated our standards.”
The New York Times
ABC’s statement is senseless. Moran’s personal statements on social media were not “news coverage,” nor did he claim that they were. The statements were made in an entirely personal capacity that had nothing to do with his employer.
However, this immediate capitulation to the Trump administration is consistent with ABC’s (now owned by The Walt Disney Company) past behavior. ABC News paid $16 million to settle a defamation lawsuit spurred by Trump’s inability to cope with criticism from George Stephanopolous. This is despite Stephanopolous being protected by the First Amendment, a higher standard of evidence in defamation cases involving popular figures, a standard Trump likely did not meet to successfully sue ABC, and Trump’s infamously incompetent legal team.
