Terry Moran Terminated from ABC After X Post Criticizing Trump Administration

Terry Moran’s employment with ABC has been terminated after the journalist shared an X post criticizing President Donald Trump.

“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,” a spokesperson for the network said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE on Tuesday, June 10.

“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 statement concluded.

Prior to his termination, the 65-year-old news reporter was suspended after he shared an incendiary social media post about Stephen Miller, the president’s homeland security adviser and deputy chief of staff for policy, on June 8.

In his early morning post, Moran referred to Miller and Trump, 78, as “world-class hater[s]” in the since-deleted tweet.

“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,” the journalist tweeted, in part.

“Trump is a world-class hater. But his hatred is only a means to an end, and that end his his own glorification [sic]. That’s his spiritual nourishment,” he concluded.

“This is unhinged and unacceptable,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X in response, adding, “We have reached out to @ABC to inquire about how they plan to hold Terry accountable.”

ABC News soon announced Moran had “been suspended pending further evaluation.”

Its statement added that the network “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.”

Just one month ago, Moran and Trump clashed in person as the Senior National Correspondent at ABC News interviewed the president in the Oval Office for a special broadcast marking Trump’s first 100 days in office of his second term.

Things became tense as the two discussed a wide range of topics from the economy to immigration and foreign policy, with Trump eventually telling Moran that the only reason he was selected to do the interview was because he had never heard of Moran.

They also discussed Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March.

While on the topic, Trump insisted that an edited image of Abrego Garcia’s alleged MS-13 tattoos were the real thing.

When Moran pointed out the president’s error and tried to “move on” with the interview, Trump replied, “Wait a minute. Hey, Terry. Terry. Terry. Don’t do that.”

“That was Photoshopped?” Trump replied in disbelief. “Terry, you can’t do that. They’ve given you the big break of a lifetime. You know, you’re doing the interview.”

“I picked you because, frankly, I had never heard of you, but that’s okay,” the president continued. “But I picked you, Terry, but you’re not being very nice. He had ‘MS-13’ tattooed. Terry. Terry. Do you want me to show you the picture?”