ABC News has fired Terry Moran – days after he penned a negative social media post about Donald Trump and homeland security advisor Stephen Miller.
On Tuesday, an ABC News spokesperson confirmed the termination by stating, ‘We have reached the conclusion of our agreement with Terry Moran. Due to his recent post, which clearly violated ABC News policies, we have decided not to renew his contract.’
‘At ABC News, we uphold the highest standards of objectivity, fairness, and professionalism for all our reporters, and we are committed to providing straightforward and reliable journalism,’ the representative added.
Moran, 65, was a senior national correspondent at the network. He previously served as ABC’s Chief Foreign Correspondent from 2013 to 2018.
Prior to that, Moran co-anchored the network’s newsmagazine Nightline for eight years. He was ABC News’ Chief White Correspondent from 1999 to 2005.
The journalist notably sat down with the president this past April, for an exclusive interview in the Oval Office.
A few weeks later, he penned the tweet that would end his 28-year ABC career.
He wrote how Miller was the ‘bile’ behind the Trumpist movement he claimed was being fueled by ‘hate.’
ABC News has dismissed Terry Moran just days after he posted a critical message on social media about Donald Trump and his homeland security advisor, Stephen Miller.
Seen here, the since deleted tweet Moran penned Sunday morning that ended his 28-year ABC News career
‘Miller is a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred. He’s a world class hater,’ Moran wrote just after midnight on Sunday.
‘You can see this just by looking at him because you can see that his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. He eats his hate,’ the anchor continued.
‘Trump is a world-class hater. But his hatred only a means to an end, and that end his own glorification.’
The next day, ABC issued its first statement on the matter, saying Moran had been suspended ‘pending further evaluation.’
At the time, a rep reiterated the post did not reflect the views of ABC News, which was forced to fork over a $15million libel settlement to Trump in December.
That was after erroneous on-air comments about Trump from Moran’s longtime colleague George Stephanopoulos.
In the months since, the network has continued to cover the conservative’s second presidency, while seeking to stay impartial and avoid the president’s wrath.
Seemingly missing the memo Sunday was Moran, who went on to delete the tweet quickly afterwards.
The journalist notably sat down with the president this past April, for an exclusive interview in the Oval Office
However, the damage was already done, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt positing it on her official X page.
Miller – one of the men behind Trump’s mass deportation agenda – responded to Moran’s comments directly.
‘The most important fact about Terry’s full public meltdown is what it shows about the corporate press in America,’ Miller wrote.
‘For decades, the privileged anchors and reporters narrating and gatekeeping our society have been radicals adopting a journalist’s pose. Terry pulled off his mask.’
Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, called Moran’s comments a ‘vile smear.’
‘ABC should apologize to Stephen,’ Vance wrote. ‘What Terry posted is disgraceful.’
The attention came with sizable social media scrutiny, forcing ABC’s hand.
Born in Chicago, Moran graduated from Lawrence University in 1982 with a degree in English, before moving to Washington, DC. There, he began his career in journalism writing for The New Republic, eventually breaking into politics. He joined ABC in 1997.
In 2004, Moran was named anchor of World News Tonight Sunday, a position he held until joining Nightline.
The late night tirade about Miller, seen here with wife Katie at a 2019 White House event, was deleted but not before screenshots of his post were shared elsewhere on the site
As Nightline co-anchor, he sat down for nine one-on-one interviews with the likes of Barack Obama.
He has received accolades such as the White House Correspondents Association’s Merriman Smith Award for excellence in presidential reporting on deadline and a George Foster Peabody Award.
Back in April, Trump said he had handpicked Moran for interview because he had ‘never heard of’ him, despite his years of experience.
