Jon Stewart has slammed ABC News for firing a veteran anchor who trashed President Trump.
The Daily Show host framed the move as just the latest example of the network bending the knee to Trump, following Terry Moran’s comments about the conservative and his aide Stephen Miller.
‘Of course not. So stupid. No, for God’s sake,’ Stewart said on The Weekly Show podcast Thursday when asked whether he agreed with the network’s decision to do away with Moran.
‘The entire thing is because ABC clings to this façade that they somehow exist in a bubble,’ Stewart continued, calling the correspondent’s ouster ‘a joke.’
‘They’re a f**king joke,’ he added of ABC. ‘They shouldn’t have paid the $15million [either].’
The latter came in reference to the network’s costly settlement with Trump in December, after George Stephanopoulos mistakenly claimed the conservative was found found ‘liable for rape’ in a case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.
‘We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing,’ an ABC spokesperson said at the time, avoiding going to court for defamation.
A still-seething Stewart went on to slam White House Deputy Chief of Staff Miller as a ‘sick f*ck’, after Moran days before said he was full of ‘bile’ and fueled by ‘hate.’
Jon Stewart engaged in a blistering takedown of ABC News for firing Terry Moran on his podcast Thursday, framing the move as the latest example of the network bending the knee following the correspondent’ comments about Donald Trump and Stephen Miller
Moran was fired Tuesday after penning a social media post that panned Trump and Miller two days before. He is seen speaking to fans Wednesday to tout his new Substack venture
‘The problem with it all is there’s no level of fealty that is enough,’ the Daily Show host went on.
The tirade ended with Stewart openly accusing execs who fired Moran Tuesday – two days after his since-deleted social media post – of engaging in hypocrisy.
‘Literally, every day on Fox News, they’re taking stuff out of context or their people are saying utterly vicious things about Democratic politicians,’ he said.
A spokesperson for the network specifically cited Moran’s post – penned just after midnight – as a ‘clear violation’ of ABC’s policy.
The 65-year-old correspondent – who worked at ABC for nearly 28 years – wrote how Miller was the ‘bile’ behind the Trumpist movement he said was being fueled by ‘hate.
He also dubbed Trump a ‘world class hater’ hell-bent on ‘his own glorification.’
Despite Moran’s years of service, ABC took a hardline approach – suspending him and then showing him the door.
By Tuesday, the punitive action took a more pronounced turn. The network issued a statement saying they were cutting ties with the former Nightline host.
Moran, 65, was a senior national correspondent at the network. He previously served as ABC’s Chief Foreign Correspondent from 2013 to 2018. Before that, Moran anchored ABC’s Nightline for eight years. He was also once ABC News’ Chief White Correspondent
Stewart had been responding to a viewer question read by producer Brittany Mehmedovic (pictured), regarding whether he agreed with the network’s decision to do away with Moran
‘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 5pm statement 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,’ it went on.
It quickly cut ties with a man who had been a senior national correspondent at the Disney-owned network for years, as well as ABC’s Chief Foreign Correspondent from 2013 to 2018.
Prior to that, Moran co-anchored the network’s newsmagazine Nightline and was ABC News’ Chief White Correspondent from 1999 to 2005.
The journalist even sat down with the president this past April, for an exclusive interview in the Oval Office.
The sitdown became contentious when Moran attempted to fact-check the president when it came to the case surrounding deported El Salvador native Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Moran pointed out there was a lack of evidence to support the government’s claim that he was part of the notorious migrant gang MS-13.
‘You’re not being very nice,’ Trump said in response. He also claimed he had handpicked Moran to oversee the interview because he had ‘never heard of [him].’
This time around, Moran’s remarks brought the attention of both ABC News and the Trump administration, The Wall Street Journal reported.
After White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saved the tweet and re-shared it to her official X account, execs consulted with ABC News’s legal and standards teams and senior execs such as ABC boss Debra O’Connell, seen here with President Amin Karamehmedovic
Their boss, Disney CEO Bob Iger, reportedly signed off on the decision to do away with Moran, according to the Wall Street Journal
Within hours, Rick Klein, ABC News’s vice president and Washington bureau chief, was contacting Moran to tell him to take the post down, to which he obliged.
After White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saved the tweet and re-shared it to her official X account, Klein consulted with ABC News’s legal and standards teams, as well as senior execs such as ABC boss Debra O’Connell, the Journal reported.
Almin Karamehmedovic, ABC News’ president, was not mentioned in the report, but his boss, Disney CEO Bob Iger was.
He reportedly signed off on the decision to boot Moran, who the next day was touting his new Substack.
‘For almost 28 years I was a reporter and anchor for ABC News. As you may have heard, I’m not there anymore,’ he said,
‘I’m here, with you, on Substack, this amazing space and I can’t wait to get at it,’ he said.
Moran’s decision to join Substack comes after former CNN anchor Jim Acosta did the same in January, leaving him free to take shots at the new administration.
