By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-17 18:47:42 | Updated at 2026-08-17 19:06:45
57 minutes ago
Longtime ABC News correspondent Terry Moran has declared that his old network suffered from a deep-seated progressive bias before his firing a year ago.
Moran, 66, compared the purported dynamic to 'a bubble' on Friday's Fifth Column podcast.
The now-independent journalist said the dynamic directly hampered the network's coverage of Donald Trump.
Moran's remarks carry extra weight because he was no big fan of the MAGA movement. Last year, he was let go over a social media post that maintained the president and Homeland Security advisor Stephen Miller were 'full of hatred.'
'Is ABC News a liberal institution?' co-host Michael C. Moynihan asked to kick things off.
Moran quickly said 'yes' before clarifying that he felt the same held true for 'a lot of mainstream media.'
He blamed the dynamic on a 'lack of viewpoint diversity' in network newsrooms.
In ABC's case, the blind-spots paved the way for 'problems in covering Trump,' he said - specifically referring to the president's second term.
ABC News vet Terry Moran lamented a lack of 'viewpoint diversity' at his old network during a podcast appearance last week
He said the purported blind-spot created problems in covering Donald Trump's second term
'Nobody had voted for him.
'And because I sent out these "Hey, we should be fair to Trump" in internal emails, I heard from people - engineers, maybe the occasional producer - who said "Thank you. Atta boy,"' he remembered.
The conversation continued with cohost Matt Welch and Moynihan noting how common it is for the 'politics' of those working behind the scenes to conflict with that of the on-air talent.
'A bubble,' Moran interrupted, with a smile.
'The bubble is very real,' Moynihan agreed.
The discussion then drifted to the circumstances surrounding Moran's June 2025 exit.
Moran - once ABC's chief White House correspondent - recalled the rush of Trump supporters who 'became angry' at him after feeling 'betrayed' by someone who typically 'covered it straight.'
'To cover "Trump Two" straight, you have to talk about the threat that it represents, to the way we’ve governed ourselves all these years,' Moran argued.
Moran said crewmembers and maybe the odd producer complimented his attempts to give Trump fair coverage. Pictured, the ABC-moderated debate between Trump and Kamala Harris in September 2024
A source told Fox News how a drawn-out saga surrounding Moran's Sunday social media post -and subsequent suspension - would have been poor for viewership, forcing higher-ups' hands
The journalist notably sat down with the president for an exclusive interview in the Oval Office just weeks before the X post that would end his 28-year ABC career.
'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 a Sunday.
'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 its first statement, saying Moran had been suspended 'pending further evaluation.'
At the time, a rep reiterated the post did not reflect the views of ABC News. Moran's exit was confirmed barely a day later.
'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 [his contract],' that 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.'
Moran, meanwhile, has since started a Substack. He previously served as ABC's chief foreign correspondent, anchored the network's newsmagazine Nightline, and worked as the network's lead Washington reporter from 1999 to 2005.
