ABC News suspended national correspondent Terry Moran on Sunday following his now-deleted social media post attacking White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller. The decision came just hours after mounting public pressure and a call for accountability from the Trump administration.
Moran’s post, which appeared on X early Sunday morning, labeled Miller “a world-class hater” and accused him of fueling division. The message was removed shortly after it gained traction online. In response, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized Moran’s comments during a live appearance on Sunday Morning Futures, accusing ABC of harboring political bias.
“ABC is going to have to answer for what their, again, so-called journalist put out on Twitter in the wee hours of the night,” Leavitt told host Maria Bartiromo. “Calling Stephen Miller vile, calling President Trump a world-class hater — this is coming from someone who is supposed to be an unbiased and professional journalist.”
ABC News confirmed Moran’s suspension but did not issue a formal statement addressing the controversy. Moran has not commented publicly on his remarks or his suspension as of this writing.
Stephen Miller responded to the incident directly on X, framing the attack as indicative of the broader agenda within mainstream media. “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.”
This isn’t Moran’s first brush with controversy. In a previous Oval Office interview with President Trump, Moran pressed the administration to push for the extradition of alleged MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador — a request that became a point of contention between federal and local authorities.
The controversy adds to growing criticism of ABC News from conservatives who argue the network shows systemic bias against Republican figures. During the 2024 presidential debates, ABC hosts David Muir and Linsey Davis were accused of disproportionately fact-checking Trump while allowing then-Vice President Kamala Harris to go unchallenged on several inaccurate statements.
Further fueling these allegations, ABC settled a defamation lawsuit filed by Donald Trump in early 2024 after This Week host George Stephanopoulos referred to Trump as a “rapist” during a tense interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).
Cable news ratings have declined across the board, with MSNBC and CNN in particular facing sharp drop-offs in key demographics. ABC and other legacy networks have also struggled to retain viewership amid growing distrust and perceptions of partisan bias. Fox News, however, remains the only major cable news outlet to consistently maintain — and in some cases grow — its audience.
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