'Frankly, I Never Heard Of You': A Testy Donald Trump Tussles With Terry Moran During Contentious ABC News Interview Marking POTUS' First 100 Days
Midway through Donald Trump's 100-day interview with ABC's Terry Moran, the president got flustered.
'Terry, they're giving you the big break of a lifetime. You know, you are doing the interview. I picked you because, frankly, I never heard of you, but that's OK,' Trump said Tuesday during the primetime sit-down.
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They were sparring over Trump's claim that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the migrant that courts have ordered returned to the U.S. after being deported to a prison in El Salvador, had gang affiliations. More specifically, Moran was challenging Trump's contention that a photo showed him with the letters MS-13 on his knuckles.
'He had some tattoos that were interpreted that way,' Moran said.
Trump interjected, 'Terry. Terry. Don't do that. It says MS 13.'
'That was photoshopped,' Moran said.
'That was photoshopped? Terry, you can't do that.'
They went on.
'Why don't you just say, yes, he does [have the gang symbols], and we'll go on to something else?' Trump said.
'It's contested,' Moran said.
With many polls showing his approval rating slipping and now underwater, Trump is in the midst of a 100-day mark tour, even with some outlets he has long deemed 'fake news.'
He has given interviews to outlets like Time and The Atlantic, on a schedule that also included a Michigan rally earlier this evening and NewsNation town hall on Wednesday.
Trump has been ubiquitous in his first few months, often speaking to reporter gaggles multiple times a day. By contrast, the primetime ABC News interview, billed as a broadcast exclusive, provided the opportunity for challenging questions and followups.
Judging by the president's reactions, Moran did just that.
Throughout the hour, Trump sparred with him not only over deportation, but his tariff policy, Ukraine and Elon Musk's DOGE cuts. At one point he called Moran's questions 'fake,' and said that a question about Pete Hegseth was 'stupid.' Toward the end of the interview, Trump said ABC 'is one of the worst.'
That Moran did the interview isn't much of a surprise. The network's lead anchor, David Muir, has been a target of Trump's since last year's presidential debate. Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos was at the center of a Trump defamation lawsuit against the network, which settled for $15 million and $1 million in attorney's fees.
During the sit down, Trump blamed Joe Biden, and blamed Biden more, while insisting that other aspects of his presidency were out of his control.
When Moran pressed him on the Supreme Court order to facilitate the release of Garcia, Trump said, 'I am not the one making this decision. We have lawyers that don't want to do this very thing.'
Moran then interjected, 'But the buck stops in this office.'
'I follow the law. You want me to follow the law? If I were the president that just wanted to do anything, I would probably keep him right where he is.'
'The Supreme Court says what the law is,' Moran said.
Moran quoted concerns raised by one of Trump's highest profile and influential supporters, Joe Rogan, who said, 'Rounding up gang members and shipping them to El Salvador with no due process … is dangerous. We got to be careful that we don't become monsters while we are fighting monsters.'
'Oh yeah, I agree with that 100%. We want to be careful. We are careful. We're doing something that has to be done,' Trump said, before launching into an attack on Biden and his border policy.
On the economy, Trump insisted that costs are 'headed in the right direction,' even though business leaders are warning of signs that inflation will rise and a recession is coming because of the president's tariff policy.
Moran asked, 'People are worried, and some people who voted for you are saying, 'I didn't sign up for this.' So how do you answer those concerns?'
'Well, they did sign up for it, actually, and this is what I campaigned on,' said Trump, adding that he spoke of how the U.S. was getting ripped off by other countries in trade.
Moran pressed Trump on the impact of the tariffs to small businesses, noting that some were looking at 'extinction' because trade with China as run up against the 145% duties. 'They are a disaster for them,' Moran said.
The president touted his accomplishments, while suggesting that voters had to give it time.
'I've been here for three months,' Trump answered. 'I've taken a trade deficit down to a number that's starting to get really good. I've only just got here.'
After listening to the president insist that businesses were investing in the U.S., Moran said, 'So your answer to the concern about the tariffs is that everything is going to be hunky dory?'
'Everything's going to be just fine,' Trump said. 'It wouldn't have been if I didn't do this.'
Moran finished the interview with what he called the 'big one': 'What do you say to people who are concerned you are taking, seizing too much power and becoming an authoritarian president like we haven't had before?'
'I would hate them to think that,' Trump responded. 'I am doing one thing. I'm making America great again.' Then he again went into Biden. 'He should have never been there. The election was rigged.'
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