The Press That Kneels: ABC’s Disgrace in the Age of trump

Why Firing Terry Moran Proves Mainstream Media Is Complicit in Normalizing Lies

First of all, allow me to start with a hearty pair of middle fingers lofted skyward, punctuated by my heartfelt "FUCK YOU" to the American Broadcasting Company, also known as ABC.

A lifetime ago, I recall watching Good Morning America (GMA) in the mornings as I got myself showered, shaved, and dressed for work. Back then, I was blissfully unconnected to the daily goings-on of the political world, despite the fact that George W. Bush was our hapless and hopelessly incompetent president at the time.

I didn’t like him, didn’t respect him, but I didn’t experience the visceral, daily white-knuckle roller coaster ride of “what fresh hell are we being subjected to today” that is part and parcel of a trump presidency.

GMA was a vapid lineup of breezy TV personalities who were pleasant enough background noise, giving updates on major events, entertainment news, sports, and more. I can still remember those relatively carefree days when I didn’t have a sense of dread before watching the news, and I used my newspaper primarily to do the daily Sudoku puzzles.

Aside from their morning shows, I can’t think of any other significant must-see TV shows that ABC had to offer. Dancing with the Stars? The Bachelor? Nah, I never really cared for those. Investigative shows like 20/20 were more my speed.

But now? You couldn’t pay me to watch the channel after they sent a message loud and clear to viewers, journalists, and politicians alike: we comply with fascists.

In case you missed it, they sent this message twice. First, by forcing George Stephanopoulos to apologize and paying a $15 million fine because he correctly pointed out that trump was found liable for the adjudicated rape of writer E. Jean Carroll.

I mean, this was a thing that happened, witnessed by millions of people—why bend the knee to this ridiculous request? Surely ABC had a competent legal team on retainer to scuttle this lawsuit from trump’s Keystone Kop law team. Alas, they settled.

And then, Terry Moran, another one of their journalists who I knew possessed some gumption, crafted a tweet that referred (rather tamely, I might add) to the architect of kids in cages, Stephen Miller, as a “world-class hater.” He called Miller’s boss one too, come to think of it.