“Any motion that damages our popularity for equity and impartiality or offers the looks of compromising it harms ABC Information and the people concerned,” an ABC Information spokesperson mentioned in a press release on Wednesday.
The ABC Information spokesperson added that the correspondent, David Wright, had “been suspended, and to keep away from any attainable look of bias, he shall be reassigned away from political protection when he returns.”
It was not clear how lengthy Wright had been suspended for and an ABC Information spokesperson declined to say.
Wright is a veteran correspondent who has labored at ABC Information since 2000. He has traveled the globe for the community overlaying main information tales, and interviewed Silicon Valley titans like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Most lately, Wright has assisted ABC Information with its protection of Trump’s presidency.
Wright was approached by somebody claiming to be a documentarian, an individual conversant in the matter mentioned. The correspondent did not know he was being taped, the particular person added.
The proper-wing activist group that recorded Wright launched the video of him on Wednesday. The group has a historical past conducting undercover sting operations in opposition to members of the information media. It beforehand focused CNN, The Washington Submit, and The New York Occasions.
Within the video launched Wednesday, Wright in contrast Trump to a “nightmare partner” and mentioned he did not like him as a result of he is a “dick.” An off-camera voice was heard asking Wright about his political ideology, to which Wright responded by saying he recognized as a socialist.
Wright additionally leveled criticism in opposition to ABC and different community information retailers for what he perceived as lackluster protection of Trump.
“We do not maintain [Trump] to account,” Wright mentioned. “We additionally do not give him credit score for the issues he does do.”
A few of Wright’s criticisms in opposition to ABC Information weren’t novel or outlandish. Wright, for example, expressed dissatisfaction with a few of the fluffier content material aired on the channel.
“You may’t watch ‘Good Morning America’ with out there being a Disney princess or a Marvel avenger showing,” Wright mentioned. ABC is a division of the Walt Disney Firm, which additionally owns Marvel Studios.