A host on MSNBC has received pushback for recently touting the same false claim that landed the network in legal trouble. ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos recently came to an agreement with President-elect Donald Trump to pay $15 million 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.”
The defamation lawsuit stemmed from a segment in which George Stephanopoulos said in a conversation with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) that Trump had been found “liable for rape.” However, this claim was false, and the jury ruled that Trump was liable for “sexual abuse.” Commenting on the lawsuit an MSNBC host recently said, “I’ll just say, I mean, this feels like it has a real chilling effect.”
Continuing, she said, “I mean, shout out to the standards department. Okay, standards is always making sure that we are keeping the bar high and substantive and accurate. but what George Stephanopoulos said in that interview, i mean, it, it seems to hold up with the judge said after the fact, and now he’s news organization and himself. George Stephanopoulos himself is paying a million dollars of his own money to the lawyers and ABC $15 million. It’s insane.”
Sharing the clip on X the popular account “End Wokeness” said, “MSNBC host just repeated the same lie that forced ABC to pay $15m to Trump” One person said, “Anybody in the media that spreads lies about Trump I don’t blame him for suing them. By the time it’s all said and done the fake news media will end up paying for Trump’s entire presidential library!”
Another user weighed in, “I’m sorry… I was not able to understand most of what she said… However, lawsuits are settled for one of two reasons…Avoiding the legal bills….or understanding that you will lose the case. ABC could afford the legal bills.” The American Tribune previously reported on the details behind the settlement between Trump, ABC News and Stephanopoulos:
The settlement agreement was publically filed on Saturday, December 14. According to the terms, which mean the parties have managed to avoid a costly trial, ABC News will pay $15 million as a charitable contribution. It will be made 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.”
That’s not all. In addition to the $15 million charitable contribution, ABC will pay $1 million in Trump’s attorney fees. Further, both Stephanopoulos and ABC News have to issue a statement stating their “regret” at the bottom of an article published on March 10, 2024; the online article regards comments made by Stephanopoulos that prompted Trump’s suit against him and the network.
Watch the host push the false claim below:
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Addressing the situation, the network commented, “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.” ABC added, “We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing.”
Watch the incident on MSNBC below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.