In a move that’s sending shockwaves through political and media circles, ABC News has suspended senior national correspondent Terry Moran following a blistering late-night social media rant aimed at top Trump adviser Stephen Miller. The suspension, announced Sunday morning, follows Moran’s inflammatory posts on X (formerly Twitter), which the network says violated its standards of journalistic impartiality.
The fiery posts, published early Sunday, accused Miller—President Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy—of being driven by hatred, calling him a “world-class hater” who is “richly endowed with the capacity for hatred.”
“It’s not brains. It’s bile,” Moran wrote in one of several now-deleted posts. “Miller is a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred. He’s a world-class hater… You can see this just by looking at him because you can see that his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. He eats his hate.”
Moran didn’t stop there. He turned his sights on Trump as well, claiming the former and current president is also fueled by animosity, albeit for self-glorification. “Trump is a world-class hater. But his hatred is only a means to an end, and that end is his own glorification. That’s his spiritual nourishment,” he added.
The Trump administration wasted no time in condemning Moran’s remarks. Vice President J.D. Vance, a loyal Trump ally, blasted Moran on X, writing, “An ABC journalist [Terry Moran] posted this absolutely vile smear of Stephen Miller. It’s dripping with hatred. Remember that every time you watch ABC’s coverage of the Trump administration.”
ABC News responded by suspending Moran pending further internal review, releasing a statement emphasizing the network’s commitment to neutrality. “ABC News stands for objectivity and impartiality in its news coverage and does not condone subjective personal attacks on others. The post does not reflect the views of ABC News and violated our standards,” a spokesperson said.
The uproar arrives at a particularly sensitive time, as political tensions escalate nationwide amid widespread protests and immigration raids. Over the weekend, chaos erupted in Los Angeles as hundreds of demonstrators attempted to obstruct federal immigration operations near Paramount, California. In response, President Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops to quell what his administration labeled an “insurrection.” Miller, a long-time architect of Trump’s hardline immigration policies, publicly characterized the unrest as a “direct threat to national order.”
Moran’s remarks are particularly notable given his recent proximity to the administration. In April, he conducted a high-profile interview with Trump, marking the president’s first 100 days in office during his second term. The conversation, tense at times, included a heated exchange over the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador and his alleged connections to MS-13.
Despite the current controversy, Moran is no stranger to provocative political analysis. Last November, he posted on X that he had predicted both Trump’s 2016 and 2024 electoral victories. He described Trump not as a partisan figure, but as a nationalist “with an authoritarian cast of mind and a personality to match.”
Moran’s suspension is just the latest chapter in ABC News’ complicated relationship with the Trump White House. In December, the network paid a staggering $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit Trump filed after anchor George Stephanopoulos referred to a civil judgment involving E. Jean Carroll as “rape.” Trump has continued to deny all wrongdoing in that case.
As of Sunday afternoon, Moran had not issued a public apology or statement, and it remains unclear whether his suspension will become permanent. His critics argue the posts were unprofessional and inflammatory; his defenders say he simply spoke truth to power in a political climate increasingly hostile to journalistic candor.
But one thing is clear: at a time when the battle lines between the media and the Trump administration are once again hardening, Moran’s words—and the fallout they’ve triggered—may mark another escalation in a war over truth, tone, and the role of journalists in an age of political polarization.