Why Did ABC News Fire Terry Moran? How an X Post Criticizing Trump Ended His Future at the Network

Terry Moran was fired from ABC News after he shared a critical post about President Donald Trump and one of his major advisers on social media.

The senior national correspondent called Stephen Miller, who works as Trump’s homeland security adviser and deputy chief of staff for policy, and Trump “world-class hater[s].” He has since deleted the post on X.

Shortly after Moran shared the message, ABC News confirmed to PEOPLE that Moran “has been suspended pending further evaluation.”

“ABC News stands for objectivity and impartiality in its news coverage and does not condone subjective personal attacks on others. The post does not reflect the views of ABC News and violated our standards,” the network said in a statement.

Two days later, the network confirmed it would not be renewing its contract with Moran.

Moran has a long history covering politics, and he’s been a senior national correspondent at ABC News since 2018. Just weeks before he was suspended, Moran interviewed Trump to speak about his first 100 days in office in his second term. Moran primarily reports on national political stories and covers the White House, the Supreme Court and various campaigns.

A rep for Moran has not yet responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Here’s everything to know about Terry Moran and why he was fired from ABC News.

Why was Terry Moran fired from ABC News?

Moran was fired after he wrote an incendiary message about Trump and one of his main advisors, Miller. Moran shared a lengthy message on X on June 8 about both parties.

“The thing about Stephen Miller is not that he is the brains behind Trumpism,” Moran wrote in a since-deleted message. “Yes, he is one of the people who conceptualizes the impulses of the Trumpist movement and translates them into police. But that’s not what’s interesting about Miller.”

He continued writing, “It’s not brains. It’s bile. Miller is a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred. He’s a world-class hater. You can see this just by looking at him because you can see that his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. He eats his hate.”

“Trump is a world-class hater. But his hatred is only a means to an end, and that end his his own glorification [sic]. That’s his spiritual nourishment,” he wrote.

Shortly afterwards, Miller addressed the comments in a since-deleted post on X and described Moran’s message as a “public meltdown.”

Meanwhile, several people from Trump’s team also commented on the message and called for Moran to be held “accountable” for his comments.

“Last night, in a since deleted post, so-called ‘journalist’ @TerryMoran went on a rampage against Stephen Miller and called President Trump ‘a world class hater.’ This is unhinged and unacceptable. We have reached out to @ABC to inquire about how they plan to hold Terry accountable,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in a message on X alongside a screenshot of Moran’s since-deleted post.

Vice President J.D. Vance also addressed the social media post and called Moran’s message “absolutely vile smear.”

“ABC should apologize to Stephen,” he wrote on X. “What Terry posted is disgraceful.”

How long was Moran’s suspension?

Before his contract was terminated, Moran was suspended shortly after he shared his message on X on June 8. ABC News said at the time that the journalist’s suspension was “pending further evaluation.”

Will he return to ABC News?

ABC News announced on June 10 that Moran would not be returning to the network.

“We are at the end of our agreement with Terry Moran and based on his recent post — which was a clear violation of ABC News policies, we have made the decision to not renew,” a spokesperson for the network said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.

“At ABC News, we hold all of our reporters to the highest standards of objectivity, fairness, and professionalism, and we remain committed to delivering straightforward, trusted journalism,” the statement concluded.

Moran has not commented on the suspension or termination.

The network issued the suspension six months after their parent company, Disney, agreed to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit against George Stephanopoulos. Trump sued the company after Stephanopoulos mistakenly stated that Trump had been found guilty of rape in a civil case brought by E. Jean Carroll, when the president was in fact found liable of sexual abuse, a lesser offense.