White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused ABC News’ Terry Moran of going on an “unhinged rant” after the network’s senior national correspondent called President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, a “world-class hater.”
In the now-deleted social media post, Moran wrote early Sunday that Miller is “one of the people who conceptualizes the impulses of the Trumpist movement and translates them into policy,” and operates not on “brains” but on “bile.”
“Miller is a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred,” Moran continued.
“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.”
ABC suspended Moran Sunday and issued a statement distancing itself from the veteran correspondent, who landed a rare interview with Trump in April.
“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 — as a result, Terry Moran has been suspended pending further evaluation.”
On Tuesday, the network told CNN’s Brian Stelter that it has ended Moran’s contract.
“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,” ABC said in a statement.
Leavitt wasted no time in calling out Moran in a Fox News interview Sunday morning, arguing that journalists need to be held accountable.
“All we’re asking for is truth and transparency. That’s it,” Leavitt said on “Sunday Morning Futures” before ABC suspended Moran.
“You cannot go on these unhinged rants against administration officials and the President of the United States. And then clearly he knew he was wrong because he deleted the post as soon as he allegedly woke up this morning.”
Leavitt’s response didn’t sit well with critics. Many slammed her for practicing “situational ethics” while others urged the administration to grow thicker skin.
Miller responded, calling Moran’s comments a “full public meltdown” and criticizing the “corporate press in America.”
“Terry pulled off his mask,” Miller added.
Vice President JD Vance also weighed in on Moran’s comments, calling them an “absolutely vile smear of Stephen Miller.”
“It’s dripping with hatred,” he added.
Plenty of social media users agreed with Moran. “ALL OF TRUMP ADMINISTRATION is unhinged and unacceptable. Truth has no place in a Trump dictatorship. Terry Moran is right – Stephen Miller ‘a man who’s richly endowed with the capacity for hatred’ and ‘a world-class hater,’ an X user posted.
Others had strong words for ABC after it suspended Moran.
Disney-owned ABC has already had a run-in with Trump. The network agreed to a $15 million settlement after Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against it. The suit stemmed from comments anchor George Stephanopoulos made when he said Trump had been found guilty of rape in the E. Jean Carrolll sexual assault case. Carroll won the case, but Trump had denied all wrongdoing.
Clearly the network did not want to tangle with Trump again and swiftly suspended Moran. Most mainstream news outlets try to remain impartial and objective when covering the news, unless they are clearly opinionated entertainment networks or shows such as MSNBC or Fox News. It would be difficult for Moran to continue covering the White House after his comments because his objectivity was compromised.
