ABC has terminated Terry Moran‘s employment after the journalist publicly criticized President Donald Trump.
“We are at the end of our agreement with Terry Moran and based on his recent post — which was a clear violation of ABC News policies, we have made the decision to not renew,” a spokesperson for the network said in a statement on Tuesday, June 10. “At ABC News, we hold all of our reporters to the highest standards of objectivity, fairness, and professionalism, and we remain committed to delivering straightforward, trusted journalism.”
The reporter, 65, was previously suspended for sharing a social media post about the president’s homeland security adviser and deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller.
Moran referred to Miller and Trump, 78, as “world-class hater[s]” in an X post that has since been deleted.
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“Miller is a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred. He’s a world-class hater. You can see this just by looking at him because you can see that his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. He eats his hate,” Moran posted. “Trump is a world-class hater. But his hatred is only a means to an end, and that end his his own glorification [sic]. That’s his spiritual nourishment.”
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavit reacted to the criticism, writing via X earlier this month, “This is unhinged and unacceptable. We have reached out to @ABC to inquire about how they plan to hold Terry accountable.”
In response, ABC News confirmed that Moran had “been suspended pending further evaluation.” The network noted that it “stands for objectivity and impartiality in its news coverage and does not condone subjective personal attacks on others. The post does not reflect the views of ABC News and violated our standards.”
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Moran and Trump previously faced off when the reporter interviewed the president in the Oval Office following Trump’s first 100 days in office of his second term. The sit-down, which aired last month, became awkward as the duo discussed the economy, immigration, foreign policy and more.
“I picked you [for this interview] because, frankly, I had never heard of you, but that’s OK,” Trump told Moran. “But I picked you, Terry, but you’re not being very nice.”
Moran previously served as Chief White House Correspondent from 1999 to 2005, coanchor of ABC’s Nightline from 2005 to 2013 and the Chief Foreign Correspondent from 2013 to 2018 before becoming the Senior National Correspondent.
