Trump expects institutions like ABC to play by the rules he refuses to follow | Opinion
Should Moran have popped off about Miller? By the old ways, he should've held his tongue. But he zeroed in accurately on the mindset of a presidential aide whose policies open up major rifts for US.
Donald Trump's second term as president is built on a simple tactic that has provided him with a devious advantage – expect and demand that major American institutions follow established norms and standards, even as he refuses to follow any rules himself.
ABC News offers us the latest example, which figures, since ABC News refuses to learn this lesson.
The network on June 8 suspended Terry Moran, a senior national correspondent, and then cut ties with him two days later, in reaction to a sharply worded but knowingly nuanced analysis he posted on social media about Stephen Miller, Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy and the architect of an immigration policy deeply rooted in the enjoyment of suffering and strife.
The Trump administration was quick to play the victim, a response as predictable as the sunrise.
Vice President JD Vance, whom you may recall from his maliciously bogus claims about immigrants eating dogs and cats in Ohio during the 2024 election, whined on social media that Moran has posted a "vile smear" about Miller, "dripping with hatred."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted that she found Moran's "rampage" to be "unhinged and unacceptable" and had reached out to ABC News "to inquire about how they plan to hold Terry accountable."
Yes, this is the same Karoline Leavitt who routinely talks about "freedom of speech" while trying to reshape the White House press corps into a supportive choir of Trump sycophants.
Accountability in Trump's world is compulsory for others but never acknowledged for themselves.
Rules don't apply: Trump tears down norms he expects us to follow
How did Moran offend? His early-morning tweet, which he later deleted, said "the most interesting thing" about Miller was not his influence and impact on Trump's policies but that he is "richly endowed with the capacity for hatred." Moran went further, suggesting hatred is "spiritual nourishment" for Miller.
That's tough stuff. But have you caught Miller's act on television? It's plain to anyone watching that Miller comes in hot for White House law television hits, looking for provocation and conflict, always seething and searching for any opening to spew disdain on anyone who does not think exactly as he thinks.
It comes off – in a word – as hateful.
Moran concluded that Trump also uses hate as a tactic – something we've all seen – but that Trump's endgame is "glorification" for himself, not just hate for the sake of hate.
ABC News moved fast here, suspending Moran and issuing this statement: "ABC News stands for objectivity and impartiality in its news coverage and does not condone subjective personal attacks on others."
The network announced on June 10 that Moran's contract was about to expire and would not be renewed, "based on his recent post – which was a clear violation of ABC News policies."
And there it is: the old rulebook, the traditional norms and standards that have served as guardrails for ages about how the news media and the executive branch interact with each other.
Just one problem for ABC News here – Trump and his team will hold the network to those rules, but they're oh so eager to demolish norms and standards for his own behavior.
I miss the days when accountability mattered to our government
This all makes me sort of nostalgic for the old ways, when television correspondents who cover the White House were less inclined to offer in public psychoanalysis for prominent policymakers, and government staffers squawked about news coverage they didn't like but didn't employ every federal tool at their disposal to damage the free speech of critics.
But Trump's second term is unlike anything America has seen before, a 24-7-365 crusade of grievance to abuse and punish anyone seen as an opponent.
Should Moran have popped off about Miller? By the old ways, he should have held his tongue.
But did he zero in accurately on the mindset of a presidential aide authoring policies that are opening up major rifts in American society? Here, Moran was spot-on, capturing Miller so precisely that I suspect his post shook the White House a bit and helped drive the demand for retaliation.
ABC News now has to decide where to go from here. Recent history suggests the network will attempt to appease Trump, and then look foolish for doing so.
Trump, who in 2024 vowed to punish ABC News because he didn't perform well in a debate the network hosted, also sued ABC for comments made by network anchor George Stephanopoulos. The network settled that lawsuit in December, making a $15 million donation to Trump's future presidential library, prompting a backlash from critics who said it had a strong argument for free speech to make in court.
Think that appeased Trump? Of course not. Give in to a bully, expect more bullying.
Trump's appointee to chair the Federal Communications Commission, who always seems open and eager to use that agency's power to punish Trump critics, opened an investigation into ABC and its parent company in March.
Here's a simple partisan test: Would Trump have flown into a dramatic rage if Joe Biden or Barack Obama did anything like that to the right-wing media fever swamp that constantly tells us he can do no wrong? Again, accountability only goes one way here.
You may, like me, feel a sentimental draw to the old ways, the following of norms and standards by both journalists and the politicians they report on. And maybe, hopefully, we'll return to that someday.
But that day is not today. And it is not likely to arrive during the three and a half years still left in Trump's second term. So here's a modest proposal: If Trump wants to upend norms and standards, give him a taste of his own medicine.
He'll pretend to be the victim of a situation he created. And we'll all see and know the truth of it.
Follow Paste BN columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Translating Politics, here.