Symone Sanders-Townsend heavily criticized ABC News and George Stephanopoulos after a settlement agreement between them and Donald Trump was reached. Last March, Stephanopoulos inaccurately stated that Trump was found "liable for rape," with the now-President-elect filing a lawsuit against him and ABC.
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On Saturday, December 14, news broke that ABC News and Stephanopoulos reached a settlement agreement in which ABC had to pay Trump $15 million with an additional $1 million in legal fees. Reactions quickly appeared all across the political spectrum. Sanders-Townsend talked about it during MSNBC's "The Weekend Sunday."
"I would just say, I mean, this feels like it has a real chilling effect. Like, I mean, shout out to the standards department standards is always making sure that we are keeping the bar high and substantive and accurate," Sanders-Townsend said, reported by the Daily Mail. "But what George Stephanopoulos said in that interview, it seems to hold up what the judge said." Sanders-Townsend called the settlement payment "insane."
MSNBC legal Analyst Barbar McQuade stated that it appears that ABC "caved away" by settling with Trump despite them having a "very strong case." "It might have a chilling effect or self-censoring effect on the media, as they cover the Trump administration," McQuade said. "Of course, a vigorous free press is essential to any administration, even more so in one where Donald Trump has vowed to go after his enemy."
Troublesome Remarks
Stephanopoulos's remarks took place last March during an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC's "This Week." "You've endorsed Donald Trump for president," Stephanopoulos told Mace. "Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape." Mace, a victim of rape, told Stephanopoulos was trying to shame her for her political choice.
Stephanopoulos's remarks were incorrect, as a jury did not conclude that Trump had committed rape, but instead found him liable for sexual abuse. Initially, Stephanopoulos was confident about his case, following Trump's lawsuit. "Trump sued me because I used the word 'rape,' even though a judge said that's in fact what did happen," Stephanopoulos said at the time. "We filed a motion to dismiss."
Following the settlement agreement, ABC News and George Stephanopoulos had to apologize for the incident. They did in an editor's note in a March 10, 2024 article. "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's This Week on March 10, 2024," reads the note.
