Stephanopoulos and Muir Pay the Price for Their Past Treatment of Trump as ABC Sidelines Them for Primetime Interview

ABC landed a major exclusive with former President Donald Trump, but the decision has come with controversy — especially for two of the network’s most prominent journalists.

Although the Trump interview is scheduled to air Tuesday night in primetime, Page Six reports that ABC’s lead anchor David Muir and veteran correspondent George Stephanopoulos were both sidelined from participating.

The report claims the White House insisted that neither Muir nor Stephanopoulos be involved in the high-profile interview.

Instead, the task of conducting the conversation was handed to Terry Moran, a senior national correspondent for the network, with the special airing at 8 p.m. ET.

“It’s nuts that it’s not Muir. And giving it to someone that people have barely heard of? A primetime exclusive with the president?” a TV industry source told Page Six.

According to the outlet, Trump was furious with past coverage by Muir and fellow anchor Linsey Davis, criticizing what he saw as unfair “fact-checking” during a prior presidential debate. Trump felt he was targeted while Vice President Kamala Harris was treated gently.

Following the debate, Trump described the event as “one against three” and lashed out at Muir, labeling him “not legit,” “a real lightweight,” and “fake news.” He even joked about suing Muir, adding a dig that Muir’s “hair was better five years ago.”

Stephanopoulos, meanwhile, drew Trump’s ire for comments made during a March 2024 interview in which he claimed Trump had been convicted of rape in connection with the E. Jean Carroll civil case. Trump responded by filing a defamation lawsuit — which ABC ultimately settled in December.

According to the Associated Press, the settlement included a $15 million payment to Trump’s presidential library.

The dispute stemmed from Stephanopoulos’s repeated assertions during the interview with Rep. Nancy Mace, where he said ten times that Trump had been found “liable for rape.” However, the legal ruling in the case contradicted that claim.

Federal Judge Cecilia Altonaga, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled against ABC’s attempt to have the case dismissed. Her ruling stated that “a reasonable jury could interpret Stephanopoulos’s statements as defamatory.”

She added: “Stephanopoulos’s exchange with Mace lasted about ten minutes, during which Stephanopoulos stated ten times that a jury — or juries — had found Plaintiff liable for rape.”

Altonaga emphasized that “the Carroll II jury did not find Plaintiff liable for rape under New York Penal Law,” and noted that journalistic privilege does not apply when “the omission of important context renders a report misleading.”