WEBVTT - Bonus Episode: TRUMP — 2, ABC NEWS — 0” (Terry Moran Fired) 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:06.360 Hey, there are folks in this episode, he criticized President 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:09.440 Trump on a Saturday night and he was out of 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:12.400 a job by Wednesday morning. And with that, welcome to 0:00:12.440 --> 0:00:17.119 this bonus episode of Amy and TJ. In this episode, 0:00:17.360 --> 0:00:20.000 now we'll discussed what many of you already heard. Longtime 0:00:20.040 --> 0:00:23.880 ABC News corresponding Terry Moran was initially suspended and then 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:28.800 eventually they said just today, just hours I guess prior 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:30.600 to this recording that he in fact is not going 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:33.360 to be returning to the network. We'll get into some 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:37.800 of the details, but Robes, initially, let me get your reaction. 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:39.320 I probably know it. As soon as we heard he 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:42.200 was suspended. We had our thoughts. But your reaction now 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:46.199 to just two three days after that tweet where it 0:00:46.240 --> 0:00:48.040 is Terry Moran is not returning DABC News. 0:00:48.280 --> 0:00:50.800 Yes, well, I am not surprised. 0:00:51.040 --> 0:00:54.280 As soon as we heard that he had been suspended 0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:58.040 and we read what his actual original tweet was, you 0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:00.360 and I both knew he was never going to come 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:03.920 back to ABC News. There was no way that a 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:08.559 network news division that certainly, as we hope all media 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:10.839 outlets rely on at. 0:01:10.840 --> 0:01:11.280 Least a. 0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:20.320 Credibility and an attempt at being not taking sides. 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:21.080 It certainly is. 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:25.039 Objectivity is core to being a professional journalist and core 0:01:25.080 --> 0:01:28.200 to being a part of a network news organization. What 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:30.920 we cover, when we cover it, you know, how we 0:01:31.000 --> 0:01:32.440 even cover things can certainly be. 0:01:32.520 --> 0:01:33.160 Up for debate. 0:01:33.240 --> 0:01:37.840 But you know, no matter what, you cannot make a 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:42.480 public critical comment about a politician, about someone who you 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:45.679 are supposed to remain objective about so that people at 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:49.680 home can decide what they think. This was a clear, obvious, 0:01:50.200 --> 0:01:53.120 big no no that I have never actually really seen 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:54.280 anything similar. 0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:56.520 To okay, So I think neither or neither of us 0:01:56.680 --> 0:02:01.000 surprised by it. Even the timing surprise you initial suspension 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:03.640 and then here we are just really three days later. 0:02:03.960 --> 0:02:06.400 That seems swift enough to me. It seemed like I 0:02:06.560 --> 0:02:09.000 give him enough time to dot some eyes, cross some 0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:12.320 te's and make sure everything was cool. But the timing, 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:14.920 There's nothing about this whole story that surprises me. I'm 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:16.919 trying to find something in there that I go home, 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:19.120 wait a minute, or this or that, But just what 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:22.639 he did and what they did in response is it's 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:25.200 tough to find issue with. I. 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:27.799 Yes, my only surprise would be that it took them 0:02:27.960 --> 0:02:30.520 three days, because there was really nothing to. 0:02:32.160 --> 0:02:33.960 Work through or work out. 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:36.760 He wrote what he wrote, and I really couldn't And 0:02:36.840 --> 0:02:38.720 I don't think you could think of a reason why 0:02:38.800 --> 0:02:40.680 he could defend what he did or said. 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:44.200 Obviously I can think of a reason, because you know, 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:46.720 I say that with a smile, because I'm always anytime 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:48.760 I hear someone say, wait, let me hear all the 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:50.680 details first, let me hear what was on their mind, 0:02:50.760 --> 0:02:52.919 let me hear what was going on, they would only 0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:56.680 come out as excuses. They would only be received that way. 0:02:56.840 --> 0:02:58.320 But this is the guy who's been in the business 0:02:58.360 --> 0:03:01.800 a long long time, just twenty eight years at ABC alone. 0:03:02.160 --> 0:03:06.000 He's and he's covered. He covers big stuff. He didn't 0:03:06.040 --> 0:03:07.919 run around and cover the NBA finals. 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:11.760 The Preme Court of the foreign news, the Pope. 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:13.680 Okay, he covers the Vatican stuff like. 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:15.880 That, important heavy political stuff. 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:21.560 So him tweeting at midnight, him tweeting when he did, 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:24.120 and what he he knows better than what he did. 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:27.080 So my only thing he had to be out of 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:31.160 his right, out of his mind, or he just said 0:03:31.600 --> 0:03:33.079 the hell with it and I just don't give a 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:35.960 damn anymore and decided to do it. But he knows 0:03:36.080 --> 0:03:37.160 better than what he did. 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:39.120 Look, this wasn't a slip of the tongue. 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:45.040 This wasn't accidentally editorializing when you're on live television and 0:03:45.160 --> 0:03:51.720 something slipped out. This was a deliberate, handwritten thought that 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:55.920 you chose to disseminate in a very public forum. 0:03:56.080 --> 0:04:01.080 So it's done long, quick, quip correct, And so it was. 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:04.440 Even though there definitely were some grammatical errors, that isn't 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:08.400 typical of Terry Moran, who again is a consummate professional 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:11.480 and has been an incredible journalist, so he that isn't 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:15.200 in character for him. So the only reason that I 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:17.400 believe you and I could come up with that he 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:20.279 did what he did was either a substance abuse problem 0:04:20.400 --> 0:04:21.960 or a mental health problem. 0:04:22.000 --> 0:04:23.160 And either one of. 0:04:23.080 --> 0:04:25.520 Those two things, I imagine you could take to ABC 0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:27.520 News and say, I need help, I need to recover, 0:04:27.640 --> 0:04:29.920 I want to apologize, I need to get my head 0:04:29.960 --> 0:04:32.560 on straight. And that would be the only way that 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:35.919 I could have envisioned ABC News standing by him, or 0:04:35.960 --> 0:04:39.200 at least seeing him through getting through a tough time 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:39.919 in his life. 0:04:40.040 --> 0:04:42.680 And we are not, to be clear, suggesting anything of 0:04:42.680 --> 0:04:46.160 the sol interesting in that no issue, nobody suggested, and 0:04:46.240 --> 0:04:48.400 we're not that either, And just what we know of 0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:51.080 this guy for so long, you're looking for a reason 0:04:51.480 --> 0:04:54.599 for why he did what he did. And the journalist 0:04:54.640 --> 0:04:57.960 we know knows better than to do what he did, 0:04:58.040 --> 0:05:00.120 So why did he do it? We're looking for that 0:05:00.240 --> 0:05:02.320 answer and we don't have that yet from him. I 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:04.719 don't think there's a single comment from him publicly. But 0:05:04.960 --> 0:05:06.839 why did he do it? In the timing of it? 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:09.760 And you talk about I mean, having some people just 0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:12.400 made mistakes just it's late, they're exhausted, a couple of 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:13.960 glasses of wine and screwed up. 0:05:15.040 --> 0:05:17.200 But this was just but this was yes, and it 0:05:17.240 --> 0:05:19.240 could be, but this was just so deliberate. And then 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:23.040 when we found out today that it turns out ABC 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:26.640 News didn't actually even have to fire Terry Moran because 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:29.240 his contract is up at the end of this week. 0:05:29.600 --> 0:05:31.719 The timing of when he put out the tweet and 0:05:31.800 --> 0:05:35.000 the fact that this was potentially his last week the 0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:39.560 network seems perhaps that he could have The other thing 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:41.240 is he could have done this to go out with 0:05:41.320 --> 0:05:44.120 a blazers of glory that he wanted to say what 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:46.359 had been on his mind for a long time. He 0:05:46.440 --> 0:05:48.600 knew perhaps after he had left the network, it might 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:50.760 not get as much attention and maybe he knew. Hey, 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:53.640 while I'm still working with ABC News, I'm going to 0:05:53.720 --> 0:05:56.080 go ahead and say what I've wanted to say for 0:05:56.160 --> 0:05:57.840 the last four or five months. 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:00.320 And two for those that don't know, you have up 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:02.120 in front of you. Yes, I is okay, go ahead 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:04.120 and read exactly what he said. I think the grammatical 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:05.960 errors are in there as well, but yes, this is 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:10.240 exactly what Terry Moran wrote at twelve eight a m. 0:06:11.080 --> 0:06:13.440 Saturday night, So into Sunday is what we're talking about. 0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:14.080 This is what you wrote. 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:17.880 Yes, and I'm reading this verbatim. Grammatical mistakes and all. 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:21.279 Miller is a man who was richly endowed with the 0:06:21.320 --> 0:06:26.040 capacity for hatred. He's a world class hater. You can 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:29.480 see this just by looking at him, because you can 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:33.120 see that his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:35.440 He eats his hate. 0:06:36.080 --> 0:06:39.479 Trump is a world class hater, but his hatred is 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:43.559 Sorry I started, I tried to correct his grammatical error, 0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:47.280 but his hatred only a means to an end, and 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:54.160 that end his own glorification. That's his spiritual nourishment. And 0:06:54.240 --> 0:06:56.960 we should point out that Terry Moran is referring to 0:06:57.000 --> 0:07:00.960 Stephen Miller, who is the deputy chief of staff President Trump. 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:04.119 See, yeah, and this is personal, I would even and 0:07:04.120 --> 0:07:06.760 and I hope this doesn't. It has a little bit 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:09.720 delve into a back and forth, a conversation left and 0:07:09.800 --> 0:07:15.920 right about media bias. And there's some defending Terry Moran say, hey, 0:07:15.960 --> 0:07:17.880 why are you going to suspend or punish him for 0:07:18.040 --> 0:07:21.960 speaking truth to power, for speaking up for free speech. 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:24.640 Shouldn't he be allowed to say what he wants to say? 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:27.440 This is not a left right situation. This is just 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:30.240 everything turns into that. But it's not that. This is 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:35.600 about the fundamentals of basic journalism. This, sweetheart, did we 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:38.000 get out of the first week of journalism class without 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:42.600 them teaching you about objectivity? Point blank? You can never 0:07:43.160 --> 0:07:45.560 go back and cover the White House again after this? 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:47.680 No, you have to. Can't you learn? 0:07:47.800 --> 0:07:49.200 I think one of the first things you learn is 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:52.200 do you take your personal opinions and your personal bias 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:54.520 and what you think and what you were raised to believe, 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:57.760 and you hang that on the code hanger along with 0:07:57.760 --> 0:07:59.720 your jacket, and you can pick it back up when 0:07:59.720 --> 0:08:02.360 you leave the newsroom. But one while you're in the newsroom, 0:08:02.680 --> 0:08:06.000 you were one of your most important jobs is to 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:08.600 be objective. You should tell the truth, and you need 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:11.480 to say it without bias. You should let the people 0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:15.360 at home decide what they think based on the facts 0:08:15.360 --> 0:08:16.640 that you can provide them. 0:08:16.680 --> 0:08:17.640 And that's a period. 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:22.000 They're arguing now that Okay, he left the newsroom, he 0:08:22.120 --> 0:08:24.560 was done with his job for the day. Why can't he, 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:28.120 as a private citizen now go say whatever the hell 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:31.280 he wants and why should he be punished for exercising 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:36.040 a free speech right. That is not the debate here, folks. 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:39.840 This is journalism. This is a high level journal list. 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:43.760 We all know. So we are just on the Gavin 0:08:43.880 --> 0:08:46.840 Rossdale came into our studio. We did an interview, right 0:08:47.160 --> 0:08:50.240 imagine two days before I did that, I just got 0:08:50.280 --> 0:08:52.880 on Twitter and said, Gavin Rossdale is an idiot. I 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:55.840 hate his hair, his music is stupid. Yeah, okay, is 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:57.640 he going to come in and do an interview with me? 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:00.720 Absolutely no, you don't. You just can't do what he 0:09:00.760 --> 0:09:03.880 did and still be claimed to be objective. And this 0:09:04.040 --> 0:09:07.880 wasn't about policy. This was personal. He's a hater. He's 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:09.600 nourished by his hate. 0:09:10.280 --> 0:09:11.440 He eats his hate. 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:11.800 Come on. 0:09:12.240 --> 0:09:16.559 That's that's throwing a massive barb at somebody, and it 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:18.240 is I think that's a good way to put it. 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:21.720 It's deeply personal. He wasn't discussing politics. He discussing discussing 0:09:21.920 --> 0:09:26.040 their ethics, their morality, and he had issue with that, 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:28.800 and that's something you can't recover from. That's not something 0:09:28.840 --> 0:09:32.240 that you can say, whoopsie or oopsie, I shouldn't have 0:09:32.240 --> 0:09:33.520 done that, or I shouldn't have said that. 0:09:33.559 --> 0:09:37.000 And that's not truth to power, right, it's not truth 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:40.079 to power. It's not correcting a politician who let out 0:09:40.080 --> 0:09:43.480 of falsehood. That's objective. And your point is that you 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:45.679 don't like this guy. You think he's a hater. That's 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:46.200 not a fact. 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:47.600 That's a personal opinion. 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:49.959 Personal opinion. So I think even if he had criticized 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:53.679 the administration in some way policy wise, maybe a suspension, 0:09:53.720 --> 0:09:56.200 maybe he could come back from it. This was just 0:09:56.400 --> 0:10:00.600 outright personal attack, personally attacking the why, and. 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:07.439 In doing so, unfortunately, it fuels this narrative that every 0:10:07.520 --> 0:10:11.680 journalist in mainstream media at the big networks all feel 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:14.680 the same way Terry Moran feels, and they're just hiding 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:18.520 it and pretending that they don't while they're on the job, 0:10:18.640 --> 0:10:21.839 and yet they actually ask questions and go about their 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:25.559 job with that bias, with that hatred, with that personal 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:29.600 negative opinion about the people in power, and that's shaping 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:32.640 and affecting news coverage, and so that now of course 0:10:32.640 --> 0:10:34.720 people are saying, see that he took his mask off, 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:38.040 this is the mask that all journalists are wearing at 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:41.440 the networks, and that's simply not true at all. So 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:45.320 it's unfortunate that now because of the decision of Terry, 0:10:46.440 --> 0:10:49.600 a lot of other journalists are now being viewed through 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:50.280 that same lens. 0:10:50.320 --> 0:10:51.280 And they have been for a while. 0:10:51.320 --> 0:10:53.040 It's not like this is a new thing, but now 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:57.439 of course, but now it's like proof. Aha. See they 0:10:57.480 --> 0:11:00.520 all think that. See they all act with that in 0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:02.520 their minds as they report the news. 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:04.199 And that's unfortunate. 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:07.520 Well, it just feeds that storyline. And now now we're 0:11:07.520 --> 0:11:10.199 helping it along, like we've you know that stuff y'all 0:11:10.320 --> 0:11:13.600 just railed about and y'all suspicious of Boom. We just 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.000 gave you some evidence of it. Yes it's only one case, 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:19.800 but we give you evidence. Look, and people, everybody, no trust. 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:23.640 Every single journalist has an opinion. Every single journalist has 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:28.280 an opinion about Trump and policies and every other politician 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:30.439 you can think of, and everything going on in the world. 0:11:30.440 --> 0:11:32.280 But the point is you're not supposed to let that 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:36.160 influence your work, So don't. We're not sitting here at 0:11:36.160 --> 0:11:39.040 all thinking no journalists to have an opinion about something 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:42.959 in our personal lives, but you can't let that out, 0:11:43.000 --> 0:11:46.000 and then you can't let it get into your work. 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:57.440 Every journalist is different, and I think you and I 0:11:57.480 --> 0:12:02.040 are very similar, Babe. That when and I heard people 0:12:02.160 --> 0:12:04.840 and it wasn't that often that people sometimes would express 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:07.040 their opinions, and I would actually say it was rare 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:09.400 in a new Zoom because it was understood you don't 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:15.680 discuss your personal opinions about specific politicians or their policies. 0:12:15.760 --> 0:12:18.080 You can talk about how they handled it or perhaps 0:12:18.120 --> 0:12:20.600 how we're covering it. But it was very rare, and 0:12:20.679 --> 0:12:23.280 I always removed myself from any of that, and I. 0:12:23.240 --> 0:12:24.040 Always try to. 0:12:24.360 --> 0:12:26.920 I really did try to put on blinders when it 0:12:26.960 --> 0:12:31.040 came to reporting, especially when it comes to the Trump administration. 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:36.720 It is a very delicate dance. Everyone is dancing, truly 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:39.600 in the newsroom, trying not to express their opinion and 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:42.120 trying to remain objective. And there's been a big debate 0:12:42.120 --> 0:12:44.520 with Trump because it's taken it to a whole other 0:12:44.600 --> 0:12:48.040 level as he goes out and goes after the press, 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:54.560 and so it's already tricky. It's already a very troubled 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:57.360 relationship between mainstream media and the Trump administration. 0:12:57.720 --> 0:13:01.240 I don't mind us having more scrutiny. I don't mind 0:13:01.400 --> 0:13:04.679 somebody forcing us to check ourselves a little more. I 0:13:04.720 --> 0:13:07.040 don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. If it keeps 0:13:07.120 --> 0:13:09.000 us from doing our job and has us running scared, 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:12.280 that's a different thing. Because it seems right now, yeah, 0:13:12.320 --> 0:13:16.520 it's Trump to ABC News zero in his administration right now, 0:13:16.559 --> 0:13:18.800 because he already wiped the floor with the whole George 0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:22.600 Dephanopolis thing. Right, they already pay this due sixteen million dollars. 0:13:22.960 --> 0:13:25.080 And then look at what's happening over at CBS and. 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:27.319 Yeah, oh that he's still what he's holding them hostage 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:30.880 almost with them trying to do a sale of CBS. 0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:33.880 At this point, he's still how much is that lossuit billions? 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:40.199 It's billions. And now you have a major, seasoned, reputable 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:44.280 journalists and executives stepping down because they feel that there's 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:47.120 an overcorrection now over at CBS that they're trying so 0:13:47.200 --> 0:13:50.560 hard not to upset Trump that they're avoiding or they're 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:54.319 absolutely changing how they would have normally covered stories. 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:57.160 So there are some points where you can already point 0:13:57.160 --> 0:14:01.160 to and say networks are caving. He's just handing him 0:14:01.160 --> 0:14:03.600 a win. This is too easy. He didn't have to 0:14:03.640 --> 0:14:06.840 go search for this one. I mean, I can't even 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:11.040 Trump is right on this. It's hard to make any 0:14:11.200 --> 0:14:14.840 argument that Trump did something wrong in this scenario. He 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:17.360 was attacked, his White House was attacked by a guy 0:14:17.400 --> 0:14:19.880 who has been covering and yes, remember Tara Moran is 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:21.800 the guy who just interviewed and went in April on 0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:26.240 his first one hundred days. Why Because ABC News is 0:14:26.400 --> 0:14:30.160 really running out of people who can interview the President 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:30.640 of the United State. 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:34.360 George Sephanoppolis cannot interview the president. Robin Roberts isn't going 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:36.640 to interview the president. And I don't know how they 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:40.880 would feel about having her, because I just think that 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:43.520 they are looking at certain journalists as oh, okay, well she 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:45.400 interviewed Barack Obama, so we're not going to have her 0:14:45.440 --> 0:14:48.080 interview President Trump. They're very picky as well as to 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:50.560 who they would choose. They went out, They went after 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:54.080 David Mure because of how they felt he handled along 0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:56.360 with Lindsay Davis, who would be another one possible, how 0:14:56.400 --> 0:15:00.320 they handled the debate. So he was upset with them. 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:01.760 So that's not going to happen. 0:15:01.800 --> 0:15:04.000 That's why it fell to Terry Moran. He was the 0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:06.160 one that the White House picked. They gave him a hey, 0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:08.400 which one of these for the interview? He picked Moran. 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:11.240 He told Moran during the interview, I picked you because 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:13.320 I never heard of you. So he was almost saying, 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:15.640 congratulations on this opportunity. I'm giving you. 0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:17.200 Correct one hundred percent. That's what he did. 0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:19.920 They're running out of people who can interview the President 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:20.400 of the United. 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:21.120 States now, you know. 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:24.000 And it really is puzzling to me because Terry, look, look, 0:15:24.080 --> 0:15:26.280 anyone who's had a long career, and he certainly has. 0:15:26.320 --> 0:15:27.920 He sixty five years old, has had a long and 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:32.240 storied career, twenty eight years at ABC News alone, and 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:34.360 you have ups and downs in your career. And he 0:15:34.400 --> 0:15:37.000 at one point was visible all the time covering the 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:39.760 White House, the Supreme Court, he went over to the 0:15:39.800 --> 0:15:42.280 London bureau and was a foreign correspondent, and then you know, 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:43.960 you start to go. You don't get on as much. 0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:47.400 But there has been a recent resurgence in his career 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:49.960 where he yes, he got the Trump interview. They put 0:15:50.080 --> 0:15:53.000 him out front and center in Rome to cover the Pope. 0:15:53.000 --> 0:15:55.760 So his career seemed to be on the upswing. 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:59.360 Supreme Court and the election were two things they needed 0:15:59.360 --> 0:16:02.560 his expertise. Car he's a veteran. Rome needed his expertise. 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:04.840 He's a veteran, and so clearly with what's happening at 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:07.320 ABC News, you would think they'd hold on to someone 0:16:07.520 --> 0:16:07.880 like that. 0:16:07.960 --> 0:16:09.280 His contract was coming up. 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:12.440 That's why I can't get my head around that, because 0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:14.600 you and I both know when your contract's coming up. 0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:17.360 Six months before your contracts up, sometimes even a year 0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:19.840 before your contracts up. If they want to keep you, 0:16:19.880 --> 0:16:22.880 the network will come to you or to your agents 0:16:22.920 --> 0:16:25.840 and try to work something out. A week before your 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:29.000 contract's up and you haven't worked anything out. That seems 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:31.480 a little suspect as well, but that is what ABC 0:16:31.520 --> 0:16:33.760 News said that his contract was up on Friday, and 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:36.360 so this has certainly created a situation in which they 0:16:36.880 --> 0:16:39.400 can officially say they will not be renewing his contract, 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:42.360 therefore they didn't have to fire him, and they didn't 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:44.000 have to actually do anything. 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:46.440 Well, was it. I'm looking at their statement here in 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:49.160 part of it says we have made the decision to 0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:52.880 not renew, as if that decision had yet to be made, 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:57.560 or had they made the decision he was going to stay. 0:16:57.600 --> 0:16:59.080 I don't think they were planning on getting rid of them, 0:16:59.080 --> 0:16:59.440 it's the point. 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:02.320 Well, I wouldn't so either, But then it's curious to me, 0:17:02.480 --> 0:17:05.880 because you and I. I guess I can only speak 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:08.679 for myself when several times in my career my contract 0:17:08.760 --> 0:17:11.919 has come up and I wanted to stay. Anytime I 0:17:11.960 --> 0:17:14.520 was on my not that I was ever on bad behavior, 0:17:14.560 --> 0:17:16.560 but I was on my uber best behavior. I said 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:19.080 yes to everything. I jumped on every plane they asked 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:21.560 me to, because you know, if they're considering whether or 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:24.000 not they want to keep you, and they're considering how 0:17:24.080 --> 0:17:27.240 much they would like to pay you, you usually put 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:30.080 your best foot forward in those months and weeks leading 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:33.200 up to your contract ending. So it seems extra suspect 0:17:33.400 --> 0:17:35.479 that he would go on this rant and make this 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:39.480 choice given the timing of his contract. 0:17:40.000 --> 0:17:41.160 That's insane. 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:43.720 To me, you described like an NFL player playing on 0:17:43.760 --> 0:17:45.840 the last year of his contract and he has just 0:17:45.880 --> 0:17:48.320 like a record year because what you want to happen, 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:50.760 So he might have Hey, maybe he just said to 0:17:50.800 --> 0:17:52.560 hell with it, he's over it. He's sixty five, I'm 0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:54.399 done with this anyway, and just let it go. We 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:57.720 don't know. Last thing for me to you is, do 0:17:57.920 --> 0:18:01.000 you see any way he could have state? No. 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:04.120 The only way he could have stayed is if there 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:07.240 was some sort of a mental health crisis of some 0:18:07.320 --> 0:18:09.320 kind that he could say, Hey, I got to go 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:11.320 get help. I'm going to come back bigger and better 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:13.639 than ever. I'm gonna apologize. I'm going to talk about 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:17.240 what journalists should do and why I completely made the 0:18:17.240 --> 0:18:20.320 wrong call. And perhaps in that context he could have stayed, 0:18:20.320 --> 0:18:23.040 but it would have the bar would be really, really high. 0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:23.680 How about you. 0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:26.680 I have to talk to him, I really would. These 0:18:26.680 --> 0:18:28.879 are things that it's hard to just what's best for 0:18:28.920 --> 0:18:31.879 the news organization is what I'm supposed to do. If 0:18:31.920 --> 0:18:33.760 I was the head of ABC News, right, you got 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:36.080 to think about that first. But then you're a human being, 0:18:36.160 --> 0:18:38.000 and we have learned so much more in the past 0:18:38.080 --> 0:18:41.480 two three years of our lives, about human beings, about 0:18:41.480 --> 0:18:46.200 mistakes that are made, about just listening, being compassionate. I 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:49.040 would like to hear and if he had a good 0:18:49.160 --> 0:18:52.560 enough reason, I would force him to come out there, 0:18:52.880 --> 0:18:55.879 get on screen, explain it to everybody. If it was 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:58.160 a health crisis, you have to explain it to everybody. 0:18:58.280 --> 0:18:59.600 You're gonna have to call and get on the phone 0:18:59.640 --> 0:19:02.639 to apologized, to Stephen Miller, to the White House Press Secretary, 0:19:02.720 --> 0:19:04.760 to the President himself. You're going to come out and 0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:07.679 do everything you can to say I'm sorry and that 0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:09.680 you made a mistake, and here is why you made 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:13.840 the mistake. If that hurts your news organization, maybe, but 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:17.360 also sends a message something about forgiveness, something about mistake, 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:21.040 something in But if it's but I'd have to hear 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:22.639 his story. And if I didn't buy it and he 0:19:22.760 --> 0:19:24.960 was just you know, popping off of the mouth and 0:19:25.000 --> 0:19:27.960 not really apologetic, that would be different. But I just wonder, 0:19:28.000 --> 0:19:30.320 and I just wish things like that didn't have to 0:19:30.320 --> 0:19:32.480 be the end for people who have contributed so much 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:36.080 to an organization, to a field of journalism that one 0:19:36.480 --> 0:19:38.880 tweet at midnight and it's over. 0:19:39.320 --> 0:19:40.560