What happened
ABC News Sunday suspended longtime correspondent Terry Moran over a deleted late-night social media post in which he called White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller a "world-class hater" who is "richly endowed with the capacity for hatred" and whose "hatreds are his spiritual nourishment."
Who said what
The "interesting" thing about Miller isn't that he's the "brains behind Trumpism" but rather his "bile," Moran said in his post. "He eats his hate," unlike President Donald Trump, whose "hatred is only a means to an end." Miller is the "subject of frequent and ferocious criticism" for designing Trump's immigration policies, CNN said, but it's "highly unusual for a network correspondent like Moran to publish such a politically charged" critique.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on FOX News' "Sunday Morning Futures" that she hoped Moran would "either be suspended or terminated" for his "unacceptable and unhinged" post, and ABC had "said they will be taking action." About an hour later, ABC News said Moran had "violated our standards" on neutrality in reporting and "has been suspended pending further evaluation." Moran, who has been with the network since 1997, interviewed Trump in April.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Executives at "major media outlets are reportedly instructing their newsrooms to temper their coverage" of Trump "amid growing fears of political retribution," Axios said. ABC's December agreement to pay Trump $16 million to settle an unusual defamation lawsuit "was viewed as a remarkable concession to a politician by a broadcast network," The New York Times said. CBS News' parent company is weighing a similar settlement.
-
Rescissions: Trump's push to control federal spendingFeature The GOP passed a bill to reduce funding for PBS, NPR and other public media stations
-
Is Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' cancellation an omen of something worse?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION CBS said its decision to end the talk show was strictly business. But the timing and nature of the announcement has some observers wondering if there's more at play behind the scenes.
-
Why is ABC's firing of Terry Moran roiling journalists?Today's Big Question After the network dropped a longtime broadcaster for calling Donald Trump and Stephen Miller 'world-class' haters, some journalists are calling the move chilling
-
Stephen Miller: Trump's extremist 'brain'Feature Stephen Miller has emerged as an unrivaled power within the White House. What does he want?
-
Supreme Court lowers bar in discrimination casesspeed read The court ruled in favor of a white woman who claimed she lost two deserved promotions to gay employees
-
Deportations: Miller's threat to the courtsFeature The Trump administration is considering suspending habeas corpus to speed up deportations without due process
-
'The more complex question of why remains'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump moves to gut PBS and NPR in latest salvo against the mediaIN THE SPOTLIGHT The president's executive order targeting two of the nation's largest public broadcasters comes as the White House seeks to radically reframe how Americans get their news
