On Saturday it was announced that ABC News reached a $15 million settlement with Donald Trump after he filed a defamation lawsuit that seemed headed to trial. Not anymore:
The settlement was publicly filed on Saturday, revealing that the two parties have come to an agreement and avoided a costly trial. According to the settlement, ABC News will pay $15 million as a charitable contribution to a "Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for Plaintiff, as Presidents of the United States of America have established in the past." Additionally, the network will pay $1 million in Trump's attorney fees.
Stephanopoulos and ABC News will issue statements of "regret" as an editor's note at the bottom of a March 10, 2024, online article, about comments made earlier this year that prompted Trump to file a defamation lawsuit.
Instead of learning any lessons from this, many in the media are actually criticizing ABC and their Disney ownership for caving to Trump and not fighting back.
Speaking of "not learning any lessons," CNN's Jim Acosta and Brian Stelter said their industry needs to instead fight back and double down on the BS they push:
Jim Acosa: "This is a time for our industry to stand firm..."
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) December 16, 2024
Brian Stelter: "If some bend the knee [to Trump], others have to stand up straighter...We work for the viewers! Not for anybody else!" pic.twitter.com/UAyooZOgkr
"We're going to have a very important job to do," and everybody knows what Acosta's definition of that "job" is:
Jim Acosta on ABC settling defamation suit with Trump:
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) December 16, 2024
"This is a time for our industry to stand firm and we're going to have a very important job to do. And that's not putting us on a pedestal...But we're going to have a very important job to do, because Trump is not going to… pic.twitter.com/idhQKmy4hg
Stelter agreed with Acosta that the media needs to stand up to those who simply want the press to not be so incredibly dishonest:
Jim Acosta on ABC settling defamation suit with Trump: "This is a time for our industry to stand firm and we're going to have a very important job to do. And that's not putting us on a pedestal...But we're going to have a very important job to do, because Trump is not going to change his ways...you can't have the news industry worrying about this sort of stuff when they're just simply doing their jobs."
Brian Stelter: "Well if some bend the knee, others have to stand up straighter."
It's not just ABC News with a defamation problem:
Also a reminder that CNN and Jake Tapper are currently being sued for defamation by a veteran. https://t.co/Fq7GQuk7Gt
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) December 16, 2024
Remember Nick Sandmann? CNN settled with him and didn't "stand up" that time either.
Sure, stand firm. Why take a look in the mirror and question why ratings are plummeting, and if ABC settled a lawsuit for $15 million for good reasons. Just keep doing what you are doing. 🤡
— Dave (@MiDiamondDave) December 16, 2024
These are the least self-aware "journalists" on the planet.
Acosta and Stelter holding themselves up as the saviors of media? That's the biggest joke of the year.
— Writer, CR HIATT⭐⭐⭐ (@CR_HIATT) December 16, 2024
You think they would learn.
— 🇺🇸Chicano Libertario 🟨 (@XicanoLiberario) December 16, 2024
Go for it. https://t.co/Fh7bC0vtak
Trust in media is at a record low and yet these people just want to keep doubling down on the things that made that happen.
ABC would have lost if it had gone to court and it would have exposed them to embarrassing and damaging discovery. It wasn't a surrender, it was self preservation. https://t.co/I9enJ3FDGf
— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) December 16, 2024
Bingo. It was worth $15 million to ABC to keep Trump's lawyers from digging through their internal communications. Acosta and Stelter won't discuss that though.
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