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Chuck Todd Responds to ABC News’ Settlement with Trump
Chuck Todd expressed his astonishment upon learning that ABC News had reached a $15 million settlement in a defamation lawsuit with Donald Trump. He characterized the network’s failure to back George Stephanopoulos in addressing Trump’s rape conviction related to E. Jean Carroll as a significant betrayal.
In a recent discussion with journalist Chris Cillizza, Todd described the settlement as “stunning” and remarked that it felt like a “gut punch” to those employed within major media organizations.
Todd elaborated, stating that this development could create a challenging precedent for the media landscape. He expressed confusion regarding ABC’s decision to settle rather than contest the claims in court, suggesting that the likelihood of facing a defeat was minimal—possibly as low as 5%.
He further articulated his sentiments by saying, “If I were in the situation that George was in, I would feel like my network abandoned me.” While he acknowledged that there might be factors unknown to him which influenced ABC’s decision, Todd conveyed that, based on available information, he felt a sense of abandonment was warranted.
Cillizza detailed the connections between ABC News executives and Trump, noting that Debra O’Connell, who oversees ABC News, was seen dining at Mar-a-Lago with Susie Wiles, Trump’s new Chief of Staff. This observation led him to comment on the implications of networks aligning themselves with Trump, especially in light of recent actions by major corporations like Amazon and Meta, which contributed $1 million each to the president-elect’s inauguration fund.
As Todd pointed out, the trend of corporations appearing to accommodate Trump could have broader ramifications for the media industry. He articulated his concerns over the state of publicly traded companies that own news organizations, stating, “It’s just not going well.”
Source
www.thewrap.com