Terry Moran doubles down on Trump comments
He made the proclamation in reply to a Wednesday post from podcaster and former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau, who had called Miller 'a sociopath.' 'Wild that ABC fired @TerryMoran for simply stating that this person is a world-class hater,' the Pod Saves America host added, sharing a clip of a teenage Miller discussing the hypothetical torture of Iraqi soldiers in 2003. In the clip, Miller - then 17 and seen sitting on a school bus - is seen ranting on the subject as his classmates laugh in response.
'The goal of war is to kill as few people as possible,' Miller says at one point. 'But as for Saddam Hussein and his henchmen, I think the ideal solution would be to cut off their fingers. 'I don't think it's necessary to kill them entirely - we're not a barbaric people. We respect life,' he continues with a smile. 'Therefore, torture is the way to go. Because tortured people can live. Torture is a celebration of human life and dignity.'
The remarks were enough for Moran to finally weigh in on what got him fired, with the veteran correspondent standing by his comments. 'Miller is a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred. He's a world class hater,' Moran wrote just after midnight on June 8. 'You can see this just by looking at him because you can see that his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. He eats his hate,' the anchor continued.
'Trump is a world-class hater. But his hatred only a means to an end, and that end his own glorification.' The next day, ABC issued a statement saying Moran had been suspended 'pending further evaluation.' Two days later, a spokesperson for the network confirmed Moran's firing, specifically citing his late night post as being a 'clear violation' of ABC's policy.
'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,' the statement sent to Daily Mail at the time read. '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 rep reiterated how the post did not reflect the views of ABC News, months after it was forced to fork over a $15 million libel settlement to Trump over erroneous on-air comments from Moran's longtime colleague George Stephanopoulos last year.
'We [expletive] took it seriously and dealt with it pretty [expletive] quickly,' a source at ABC News further told Fox News. Miller - one of the men behind Trump's mass deportation agenda - responded to the comments directly. '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.'
Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, called Moran's comments a 'vile smear.' 'ABC should apologize to Stephen,' Vance wrote. 'What Terry posted is disgraceful.' The attention came with sizable social media scrutiny and seemingly forced ABC's hand. Moran, at 65, was the network's senior national correspondent for several years and previously as its Chief Foreign Correspondent - holding the position from 2013 to 2018.
Before that, he had co-anchored the network's newsmagazine Nightline for nearly a decade. He was also ABC News' Chief White Correspondent from 1999 to 2005. He notably sat down with the president in April, for an exclusive interview in the Oval Office a few weeks before the tweet that upended his nearly 28-year ABC career.
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