Photo: Alamy
ABC News announced Tuesday that it will not renew the contract of veteran anchor Terry Moran following a controversial social media post critical of President Donald Trump and his Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
The decision comes two days after the network suspended Moran while it conducted an internal review.
ABC said Moran’s post did not meet the network’s journalistic standards and confirmed it had already reached the end of his contract before opting not to renew it.
“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 network said in a statement, as reported by Deadline.
Moran served as senior national correspondent for ABC News and had been with the network since 1997.
In the since-removed post, Moran wrote, “Miller is a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred. 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.”
Moran also targeted Trump, stating, “Trump is a world-class hater. But his hatred only a means to an end, and that end his his own glorification. That’s his spiritual nourishment.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded on X, formerly Twitter, calling Moran’s remarks “unhinged and unacceptable.”
During an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Leavitt told host Maria Bartiromo that Moran’s comments undermined the credibility of mainstream journalism.
“This is unacceptable and unhinged rhetoric coming from someone who works at a major television network,” Leavitt said.
“We have reached out to ABC, they have said they will be taking action, so we will see what they do. But I think this speaks to the distrust the American public have in the legacy media,” she added.
Stephen Miller, the subject of Moran’s initial comments, also issued a response on Sunday.
“The most important fact about Terry’s full public meltdown is what it shows about the corporate press in America. 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,” Miller posted to X.
