{"id":2380817,"date":"2024-12-17T05:57:01","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T10:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/15-million-settlement-caps-another-bad-election-year-for-abc\/"},"modified":"2024-12-17T05:58:02","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T10:58:02","slug":"15-million-settlement-caps-another-bad-election-year-for-abc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/15-million-settlement-caps-another-bad-election-year-for-abc\/","title":{"rendered":"$15 Million Settlement Caps Another Bad Election Year For ABC"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2F15-million-settlement-caps-another-bad-election-year-for-abc%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2380817&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article\u2064 discusses \u2063ABC&#8217;s tumultuous year in \u200bthe context of it&#8217;s coverage surrounding President-elect Donald Trump, especially in light\u2062 of a $15 million settlement related to a defamation lawsuit.The network&#8217;s George \u200dStephanopoulos faced \u2064backlash after referring to Trump as a rapist during an interview, a claim stemming from a case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll,\u200b where Trump was found liable for sexual abuse, not rape. As part of the settlement, ABC issued an\u2064 editor\u2019s note regretting the statements made during \u2062that interview. The\u2063 article also notes ABC&#8217;s handling of political matters, including \u2064criticism regarding Vice President Kamala harris&#8217;s \u2063selection as Biden\u2019s running mate, and the network&#8217;s portrayal of the political landscape during the election season.Despite the challenges faced, ABC managed to host the only presidential debate, showcasing\u2063 a continuing connection to high-stakes political events.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>If CBS had a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/20\/cbs-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-election-year\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Election Year,<\/a>&rdquo; ABC&rsquo;s was even worse. In addition to a plethora of other catastrophes, ABC revealed on Saturday that it would pay President-elect Donald Trump a $15 million <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/12\/15\/trump-hating-abc-settles-defamation-case-with-15-million-payment-to-trump-library\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">settlement<\/a> to resolve a defamation lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>In March, ABC&rsquo;s George Stephanopoulos called Trump a rapist, ultimately forcing the network to cut a check to Trump&rsquo;s presidential library fund. Stephanopoulos made the claim during an interview with Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina. In the interview, the former Clinton White House communications director repeatedly and falsely said Trump was &ldquo;found liable for rape.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump, however, had been found <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-rape-carroll-trial-fe68259a4b98bb3947d42af9ec83d7db\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">liable<\/a> for &ldquo;sexual abuse,&rdquo; not rape, by a New York kangaroo court in a case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. Despite not remembering key details of the incident, Carroll said the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">billionaire real estate mogul sexually assaulted<\/a> her in a high-end Manhattan department store roughly 30 years ago, when she was about 50 years old.<\/p>\n<p>As part of the settlement disclosed last weekend, ABC was forced to add an editor&rsquo;s note to the bottom of an <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/nancy-mace-defends-support-trump-after-found-liable\/story?id=107964612\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">article<\/a> headlined &ldquo;Nancy Mace defends her support for Trump after he was found liable for sexual assault.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC&rsquo;s This Week on March 10, 2024,&rdquo; the note read. <\/p>\n<p>ABC was still rewarded with the one and only presidential debate this election, even after the network characterized anyone who mentioned Biden&rsquo;s racial and gender criteria for his vice presidential pick as racist.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Kamala Harris faces racial &lsquo;DEI&rsquo; attacks amid campaign for the 2024 presidency,&rdquo; a July <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/kamala-harris-faces-racial-dei-attacks-amid-campaign\/story?id=112196464#:~:text=Critics%20claimed%20she%20was%20a,backed%20because%20of%20her%20race.&amp;text=Vice%20President%20Kamala%20Harris%20is,Biden%20abandoned%20his%20reelection%20bid.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">headline<\/a> read in the aftermath of Biden dropping his reelection bid. &ldquo;Critics claimed she was a &lsquo;DEI hire&rsquo; or backed because of her race.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But it wasn&rsquo;t Harris&rsquo; opponents who said she was picked for the no. 2 job because of her race and sex. That was the <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/5803677\/joe-biden-woman-vice-president\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">president himself<\/a>, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/07\/21\/politics\/joe-biden-four-black-women-vice-president\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> four years ago that his running mate had to be both black and female.<\/p>\n<p>In July, the hostile moderator who opened Trump&rsquo;s controversial questioning at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago was also with ABC News. The network&rsquo;s Rachel Scott <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rev.com\/transcripts\/trump-addresses-national-association-of-black-journalists\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">welcomed<\/a> Trump by slamming him for criticizing black politicians and reporters and mocking their questions as &ldquo;stupid and racist.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Now that you are asking black supporters to vote for you, why should black voters trust you after you have used language like that?&rdquo; she asked.<\/p>\n<p>Yet in September, network anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis were co-hosting the debate between Trump and Biden&rsquo;s replacement. Of the four <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-conquers-new-media-as-harris-runs-walled-off-campaign\/\" title=\"Trump Conquers New Media As Harris Runs Walled-Off Campaign\">controversial live fact-checks issued<\/a> during the prime-time debate, not one of them was made against Harris, who, as the&nbsp;sitting vice <em>president<\/em>,&nbsp;was allowed to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/15\/trump-is-conquering-new-media-while-harris-stumbles-through-walled-off-campaign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claim<\/a> that &ldquo;there is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any warzone around the world [for] the first time this century.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Here are <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/11\/25-lies-kamala-harris-told-in-her-debate-against-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">24<\/a> other lies she told during the ABC forum, but apparently the moderators thought only Trump was worth their attention on air. What was ostensibly a ritual election-year event fundamental to democracy once again turned into a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/11\/abc-news-moderators-turned-debate-into-a-partisan-show-trial-against-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">televised show trial<\/a>, with three teaming up against one. While voters were eager to hear about inflation, crime, and immigration, the ABC moderators were eager to press Trump about the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, even as Harris <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/kamalaharris\/status\/1267555018128965643?s=46&amp;t=IKOF8othxykPf1OFaoJwfQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">continued<\/a> to support bailing out Minneapolis rioters from the year before.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Is there anything you regret about what<em>&nbsp;<\/em>you did on [Jan. 6]?&rdquo; Muir said. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very simple question as we move forward toward another election,&rdquo; Muir added to justify his query, which Americans had already heard answered many times over. After all, Trump faced the same question in nearly every interview since he left the White House.<\/p>\n<p>ABC News <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/13\/abc-news-refuses-to-say-if-it-will-disclose-its-debate-as-in-kind-contribution-to-kamala-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wouldn&rsquo;t say<\/a> if the network would disclose the debate as an in-kind contribution to the Harris campaign. <\/p>\n<p>The reality is that as long as legacy outlets are allowed to moderate every single showdown, presidential debates will simply be an opportunity for partisan networks to punish Republican candidates instead of platform for a good-faith discussion on the merits of each candidate&rsquo;s plans for the country. ABC should never have even been on the schedule this year as a host network after Stephanopoulos used his 2020 election town hall to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/10\/15\/biden-muddles-through-gentle-hunter-free-town-hall\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cover<\/a> for Biden at the same time the former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vp-harris-deployed-to-poland-and-romania\/\" title=\"VP Harris Deployed to Poland and Romania\">vice president faced<\/a> serious corruption charges related to his son&rsquo;s overseas business ventures.<\/p>\n<p>Presidential debates are colossal gifts to networks and the anchors who run them. For that reason, the Trump campaign should have sought to prevent ABC from hosting the prime-time forum in September, especially after the network slandered the Republican nominee as a rapist.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Tristan Justice is a national correspondent for The Federalist and the co-author of &#8220;Fat and Unhappy: How &#8216;Body Positivity&#8217; Is Killing Us (and How to Save Yourself).&#8221; He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com. Sign up for Tristan&#8217;s email newsletter <a href=\"https:\/\/socialjusticeredux.substack.com\/about\">here<\/a>. Buy &#8220;Fat and Unhappy&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sz7EDAJI1c\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ABC&#8217;s election year was worse than CBS&#8217;s, culminating in a $15 million settlement to Trump over defamation after Stephanopoulos labeled him a rapist<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":2380818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ABC-News.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[46941,7261,34187,33647],"class_list":["post-2380817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-15-million-settlement","tag-abc","tag-election-year","tag-legal-settlement"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ABC-News.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2380817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2380817"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2380817\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2380821,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2380817\/revisions\/2380821"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2380818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2380817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2380817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2380817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}