ABC Suspends Journalist After White House Complaints
ABC News reportedly suspended journalist Terry Moran after White House officials complained about his social media post disparaging President Donald Trump and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. ABC didn’t comment. Moran, who covers the White House for ABC, reportedly said Sunday in a since-deleted post on X that Miller was “richly endowed with the capacity for hatred” and that Trump is “a world-class hater.” Moran’s comments were “unhinged and unacceptable,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt posted in response. “We have reached out to ABC to inquire about how they plan to hold Terry accountable.” Vice President JD Vance called Moran’s post a “vile smear” and called for ABC to apologize. “Remember that every time you watch ABC’s coverage of the Trump administration,” Vance wrote.
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The White House pressuring ABC over Moran’s post is “classic jawboning,” said Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression CEO Greg Lukianoff in a post Monday. “It was wrong when [former President Joe Biden] did it to suppress alleged Covid or other alleged ‘misinformation’, and it’s wrong here.” Moran’s post was “very unprofessional,” and the White House simply calling attention to it would likely have led to consequences for Moran without raising First Amendment concerns, Lukianoff said.