He used the word “bile” in his screed, which is a great word, and it just happens to sum up not Stephen Miller but his own post.

His tweet ignited a wave of criticism and reportedly even displeased some of his colleagues. Initially, he was suspended, then terminated, prompting many on social media to speculate if he was “tweeting under the influence.” What else could account for such a remarkably foolish action on his part?

In a Monday interview with The New York Times, however, the axed reporter was unapologetic and claimed he was not in fact drunk:

Moran, in his first interview since being canned last week, told the New York Times, “It wasn’t a drunk tweet.”

“I wrote it, and I said, ‘That’s true,’” according to the interview published Monday.

In my opinion, he’d probably fare better if he admitted to being a bit tipsy; at least that would offer some rationale for why he demolished his career and reputation. Oddly enough, he posted the tweet after a family dinner. Perfectly normal behavior:

He composed the since-deleted post after an evening walk, a family dinner, and watching “Ocean’s Eleven” with his kids, Moran said.

“I typed it out and I looked at it and I thought, ‘That’s true,’” he said.

You can almost envision him saying, “Hey kids, that was fun! Great movie. Be right back—just going to take a quick moment to see if I can get myself fired.”