ABC News says it will not renew the contract of veteran journalist Terry Moran after he authored a social media post sharply criticizing President Trump and top White House aide Stephen Miller.
“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 told The Hill on Tuesday.
“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 spokesperson added.
Moran was suspended by the network over the weekend for his post on the social platform X in which he called Miller a “world-class hater” and said “you can see this just by looking at him because you can see that his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. He eats his hate.”
In the since-deleted post, Moran also criticized the president, saying he too is “a world-class hater” and adding that “his hatred only a means to an end, and that end [is] his own glorification. That’s his spiritual nourishment.”
Moran's post enraged the West Wing, which called on the Disney-owned network to punish the journalist.
Almost immediately once Moran's ouster was made public, White House director of communications Steven Cheung celebrated the news, writing in an X post: “Talk s—. Get hit.”
Moran's ouster comes as Trump and his allies in government are ratcheting up pressure on broadcast news networks over their coverage of him and threatening to use executive power to crack down on coverage they say is unfair to his administration.
Trump has called out ABC News specifically several times in recent weeks, suggesting the Federal Communications Commission scrutinize its broadcast license.
The network late last year agreed to pay Trump $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit out of court stemming from an incorrect statement made by anchor George Stephanopoulos during a broadcast claiming Trump had been convicted of sexual assault.
Moran has worked for ABC News for more than two decades and is based in Washington, D.C., having served in a variety of roles for the network.
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