ABC News Chief White House Correspondent (1999–2005);Nightline co-anchor (2005–2013); ABC News Chief Foreign Correspondent (2013–2018); Senior National Correspondent (2018–2025)
Terence Patrick Moran (born December 9, 1959) is an American independent journalist who was most recently the Senior National Correspondent atABC News. Based in Washington, D.C., Moran covered national politics and policy, reporting from theWhite House, theUS Supreme Court, and the campaign trail for all ABC News programs. Previously, Moran served as ABC's Chief Foreign Correspondent from 2013 to 2018, as co-anchor of the ABC News showNightline from 2005 to 2013, and as Chief White House Correspondent from 1999 to 2005. On June 8, 2025, after Moran made posts critical of Donald Trump and Stephen Miller, Moran was suspended indefinitely by ABC News and was later fired.
Moran addressing PresidentGeorge W. Bush as an ABC News White House correspondent, October 2005
Moran joinedABC News in 1997 as the Law and Justice Correspondent.[11][12][13] Moran served as the primary correspondent assigned to the U.S. Supreme Court from 1998 to 1999.[8] In September 1999, Moran was promoted to weekend White House Correspondent for John Cochran who took over forSam Donaldson while he had throat surgery.[14] Moran was promoted in December 2000 ABC News' Chief White House Correspondent from December 2000 to January 2001 where he covered the presidency ofBill Clinton.[11][15][16] He covered Vice PresidentAl Gore's presidential campaign.[13][17] While on the campaign trail in buses and planes, Moran reviewed theLincoln-Douglas debate.[18] In September 2000, Moran reported that Gore spent nine days in Florida makingGeorge W. Bush campaign extensively in the state.[19] Moran would cover the presidency of George W. Bush from January 2001 to late November 2005.[11][15] In March 2001, Moran andJim Wooten reported onSlobodan Milošević's arrest and the reasons behind it. Milošević was indicted for his role in theYugoslav Wars onwar crimes.[20] In January 2002, Moran claimed he was offended when he overheard two print reporters talking inside the briefing room.[21] In a question and answer press conference, Moran asked President Bush about theHarken Energy scandal.Ari Fleischer, who served as the 23rdWhite House Press Secretary, for President Bush, from January 2001 to July 2003, told the President that he thought Moran's editors told him to ask the question though he thought of the question himself.[22] One month after theSeptember 11 attacks (9/11), Moran reported fromthe Pentagon where there was a service for the one hundred eighty-nine dead.Secretary of DefenseDonald Rumsfeld and President Bush spoke at the ceremony onABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. Moran mentioned that the President would speak to the nation and the world in a prime time speech.[23] In January 2004, Moran reported onThis Week that President Bush campaigned as "a unifier, not a divider" in 2000 where Moran concluded with that Bush failed as that. Moran said Bush was a "divisive president" and "divisive figure".[24] During President Bush's term, he questioned why the President was taking the nation to war on "a series of false pretenses".[25] On November 7, 2005, Moran also asked about two impressions;Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi oil fields which the President said, "Yes. Well. I'm–some people have the right impressions and some people have the wrong impressions."[26][27] In that same interview, Moran asked about how terrorists would come after Americans for going to war with Hussein and Iraq which he responded, "Well that's like saying we should not be going after Al Qaida because we might irritate somebody, and that would create a danger to Americans. My attitude is, you've got to deal with terrorism in a firm way. And if they see threats, you deal with them in all different kind of ways".[28]John Powers wrote in his bookSore Winners: American Idols, Patriotic Shoppers, and Other Strange Species in George Bush's America that Moran had the guts to suggest that President Bush eluded questions on the world's opposition to war.[29] Moran interviewed Vice PresidentDick Cheney aboutsurveilling[30] andwaterboarding prisoners.[31] In March 2003, Moran reported that the reporters at President Bush's speech on theInvasion of Iraq on the start of theIraq War that reporters looked "like zombies".[32] In February 2004, Moran spoke withFirst LadyLaura Bush. She responded to him onTerry McAuliffe'sAWOL charge, "I don't think it's really fair to lie about allegations about someone." Moran would ask how she knew President Bush was onGuard Duty in Alabama. First Lady Bush responded, "Because he told me he was."The reelection committee pitched her as the president's secret weapon after theDavid Kay fiasco.[33][34] On June 22, 2004, Moran reported on the Iraqi prisoners atAbu Ghraib,Guantanamo Bay, and other lesser known prisons where torture was taking place onABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings.[35] In 2004, Moran was named anchor ofABC World News Tonight Sunday.[36] During the2004 Presidential Election, Moran asked "The question for theSwfit Boat Veterans is, are their charges accurate?" ofJohn Kerry.[37] In May 2005, Moran was interviewed byHugh Hewitt. Moran said, "There is, I agree with you, a deep anti-military bias in the media, one that begins from the premise that the military must be lying and that American projection of power around the world must be wrong."[38] In June 2005, Moran reported fromFort Bragg on President Bush's speech withCharles Gibson andGeorge Stephanopoulos in New York City.[39][40]
In April 2006, Moran said of howNightline was five months after Koppel left, "I think we're beginning in a way that's convincing our audience that we're going to remain serious."[47] In May 2006, Moran reported onArlington National Cemetery, Section 60, where members of the fallen inAfghanistan andIraq are laid to rest. It wasMemorial Day. Jack Bryant was interviewed about his son, Jay, who had been killed on November 20, 2004, when his convoy had been attacked.[48] Moran asked, "Weren't you disappointed when he didn't return home?" Bryant answered disingenuously. In reflection, Bryant wished he could have told Moran that he was devastated.[49] InMatt Welch's book,McCain: The Myth of a Maverick, Moran said, "Everywhere he goes, McCain takes on all comers. All questions."[50] In May 2007, Moran and Matt Stuart reported that former Vice president Al Gore was harshly critical of President Bush in his book,The Assault on Reason.[51][52] In April 2007, Moran wrote a blog item entitled "Don’t Feel Too Sorry for the Dukies." TheDuke lacrosse team had forty-six members. Three of them raised$800 for strippers. InDylan Gwinn's bookBias in the Booth: An Insider Exposes How the Sports Media Distort the News, Gwinn thought Moran and others were wrong about the Duke three. The Duke three werefalsely accused of rape byCrystal Mangum. On April 11, 2007, North Carolina Attorney GeneralRoy Cooper dropped all charges and declared the three players innocent. Cooper stated that the charged players were victims of a "tragic rush to accuse."[53][54][55][56][57][58][59] Om September 24, 2007, Moran interviewedKanye West along with West's mother Donda.[60][61] In October 2007, he andRym Momtaz reported onGodTube, the Christian response to YouTube.[62] In January 2008, Moran would interview Vice President Cheney, this time onNightline, about torture at Guantanamo Bay.[63] In February 2008, Moran said, "The new son ofCamelot.Ted andCaroline Kennedy pass the torch toBarack Obama to carry the legacy ofJFK".David Wright proclaimed, "The audacity of hope had its rendezvous with destiny. ... Obama is now an adopted son of Camelot".[64] On March 19, 2008, Moran, interviewedDemocratic presidential candidate Obama.[65] On September 16, 2008, Moran andArash Ghadishah reported on howLisi Harrison'sThe Clique had taken young American women by storm.[66] A few days later, he reported on theRepublican party'scandidateJohn McCain changing his mind on such things like regulatingWall Street. McCain was a champion of financial deregulation in 1999 with the repeal of theGlass-Steagall Act.[67]
In early February 2009, Moran reported onJerry Falwell's death.[68] In March 2009, he reported onAlzheimer's disease. In 2009, someone in America developed it every seventy seconds. By the mid 21st century, someone will be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease every thirty-three seconds.[69] On April 8, 2009, Moran reported theMexican government senttroops toJuarez, Mexico.[70] In mid April, he reported that Mexican PresidentFelipe Calderon vowed to take on thedrug cartels in theMexican drug war.[71] In May 2009, Moran reported fromCiudad Juarez, Mexico where drug violence persisted.[72] In July 2009, Moran interviewed President Obama.[73] In August 2009, Moran and Mary Mash reported on healthcare reform that President Obama moved for.[74] In October 2009, he interviewed PastorMark Driscoll. "An idol is someone or something that occupies the place of God in your life," he said. "[It] gives you identity, meaning, value, purpose, love, significance, security. When the Bible uses the word 'idol', that's what it's getting at." Driscoll's theory is every person has a deep inner need to worship something.[75] In December 2009, Moran,Ariane De Vogue, andDevin Dwyer reported on theUnited States Supreme Court's decision onCitizens United v. Federal Election Commission which effectively struck down restrictions on corporations and unions, however, the ruling does not effect existing prohibition on direct contributions to candidates.[76]
In May 2010, Moran interviewedJeffrey MacDonald, a formerUnited States Army captain, physician, andconvicted murderer, and his current wife, Kathryn Kurichh, on moving for a new trial for themurders of his former wife and two children. Mary Marsh andEamon McNiff contributed to the story.[84] In July 2010 Moran spoke withAndrew Breitbart, anAmerican voter andblogger, aboutanger and discontent.[85] In August 2010, Moran reported on a small grassroots organization meets to promote one goal: theright to carry weapons openly in public by pushing the boundaries.[86] In September 2010, Moran interviewed Terry Jones, a preacher fromGainesville, Florida about burning theKoran.[87] In October 2010, Moran reported onAlzheimer's disease usually associated withold age, however, more than 500,000Americans with Alzheimer's anddementia were diagnosed before the age of 65. He also talked about his mother's battle with the disease.[88] In an interview, reporter Laura Jones said, "Who would ever expect that a 46-year-old man would have Alzheimer's? It was just completely shocking".[89]
In early February 2011, Moran reported that GeneralHassan al-Roueini heard the Egyptian protesters.[90] On February 7, 2011, he interviewedAbdul Rahman Yusuf, a poet and political activist atTahrir Square in Egypt.[91] A day later, Moran interviewedWael Ghonim moving for Egypt's PresidentHosni Mubarak's ouster who said "I'm not a hero, but those who were martyred are the heroes".[92] On February 10, 2011, he reported that President Obama asked theEgyptian government to move swiftly to explain the changes that have been made after a transition of authority.[93] That same day Moran reported that Egyptian Vice PresidentOmar Suleiman said that President Mubarak had stepped down.[94] The next day he reported that President Obama praised the protesters and their peaceful demonstrations. Obama greatly admired Mubarak's resignation.[95] In March 2011, Moran took a different perspective of theattempted assassination of Ronald Reagan thirty years after it happened.[96] In early April 2011, Moran reported on theLibyan civil war fromDerna and interviewedAbdel Hakim al-Hasadi, a rebel commander inLibya, who said he worked for theNational Transitional Council (TNC).[97] On April 12, 2011, he reported fromAjdabiya, Libya continuing his coverage of the Libyan civil war and describing it aspurgatory.[98] A few days later, Moran reported on the arrest of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak.[99] In early June 2011, he reported onJack Kevorkian, how he handled a terminal patient'sright to die byphysician-assisted suicide, and reflected on his two trials.[100] In mid June 2011, Moran and Ariane De Vogue reported on the United States Supreme Court's decision onWal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes in which the court ruled that a group of roughly 1.5 million women could not be certified as a valid class of plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit foremployment discrimination againstWalmart.[101] In July 2011, he talked with people who believe they have facedSatan and been tortured by him at a church inBuffalo.[102] In early August 2011, Moran and Elizabeth Stuart reported on theUnited States Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) definition what foods aregluten-free. The label must have no more than 20 parts per milliongluten. It is to protect people withceliac disease, agenetic disorder that causes an intolerance to gluten.[103] In late August 2011, Moran reported onGlen Campbell's 'Goodbye Tour' after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Campbell's guitar playing was onFrank Sinatra'sStrangers in the Night andThe Beach Boys'Fun, Fun, Fun. In the interview with him and his wife, he said, "Definitely take care of what's today and tomorrow's going to have what it has".[104]
"Terry's range as a reporter is exceptional. He is equally adept interviewing a confessed hit man in one of Mexico's most notorious gangs as he is breaking down some of the most complex Supreme Court decisions...A brilliant writer and gifted storyteller, Terry has the ability to see the story no one else sees, explain its importance to the audience, and do it all in a stylish and compelling way."[121]
Ben Sherwood (2013), then-president of ABC News when Moran was named ABC's Chief Foreign Correspondent
Moran began his role as Chief Foreign Correspondent in June 2013.[36][122][123][124] In June 2013, Moran, Ariane De Vogue, and Abby D. Phillip reported onShelby County v. Holder that the United States Supreme Court had struck down a part of theVoting Rights Act of 1965.[125] In December 2013, he, Molly Hunter andBen Gittleson reported on Ronnie Smith, an American teacher who was shot and killed inBenghazi.[126] On June 10, 2014, Moran reportedIraqi troops were on the brink of losing toISIS.[127] In mid June 2014, he reported fromKirkuk Air Base which theUnited States military relinquished control in 2011. ISIS never came near the base, but Iraqi troops fled.[128] On July 21, 2014, Moran andKirit Radsia reported that the black boxes were recovered fromMalaysia Airlines Flight 17 with more than 270 bodies also recovered.[129] A day later, he andDan Good reported on the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 inUkraine. The plane was "significantly altered".[130] In late July 2014, Moran reported fromGaza in anIsraeli armored unit.[131] In early August 2014, he reported on theceasefire in Gaza.[132] In mid August 2014, Moran withLee Ferran, Rym Momtaz, andMazin Faiq reported that President Barack Obama said theMosul Dam was not under control by ISIS. TheKurdish and Iraqi forces retook it. The United States military had conductedair strikes.[133] In mid September 2014, he reported thatScotland was deciding whether or not tobreak away from the United Kingdom.[134] In late September 2014, Moran reported on theSiege of Kobanî. ISIS fighters had been shelling the city for a month. The United States and its allies started air strikes.[135] In November 2014, he reported on a1500-year-old manuscript that lays out the story of Jesus’ love life.[136][137] In December 2014, Moran reported on theJihadist attacks in 14 countries across the world in November 2014.[138]
In early January 2015, Moran, Dan Good, andMeghan Keneally reported on thedeadly attack at a satirical newspaper's office in Paris. Two French-born AlgerianMuslim brothers,Saïd andChérif Kouachi, targeted the French satirical weekly magazineCharlie Hebdo. Twelve people were murdered and eleven injured.[139] In late January 2015, he and Michael S. James reported on the 70th anniversary of theliberation of Auschwitz. About 300 Holocaust survivors returned to the death camp inPoland where more than 1 million were slaughtered duringWorld War II. The commemoration was smaller than in the years before.[140] In early February 2015, Moran reported on theUkrainian civil war. France and Germany wanted peace whileVladimir Putin supported the rebels. Secretary of StateJohn Kerry supported France and Germany's position. TheUkrainian government wanted more weapons in response to the rebels. The Ukrainian government claimed that their soldiers were being hammered by the rebels and some 9,000 troops from Russia.[141] In February 2015, Moran interviewed a United States Armyveteran who was born in Detroit.[142] In late February 2015, Moran reported on theassassination of Boris Nemtsov, who was gunned down while walking across a bridge.[143][144] In March 2015, Moran reported on the Republican party's letter toIran that some think violated theLogan Act.[why?][145] A few days later, he and Molly Hunter reported about Putin emerging after being out of the public eye for a week.[146] In April 2015, Moran and Michael S. James reported after thedevastating earthquake in Nepal that Rishi Kanal was pulled out of rubble safely after being under it for 80 hours.[147] In June 2015, he reported from the front lines in the fight against ISIS. TheIran-backed militia exude confidence while someIraq soldiers seem bleak. A soldier told him, "We will be victorious over the cowardly traitors with God's will."[148] In September 2015, Moran reported on how a Syrian refugee family was Smuggled fromSyria toGreece as they were desperate to find a way to Germany. In what has been the greatest mass migration here since the Second World War, at least 350,000 refugees have illegally entered Europe so far this year. The family was looking for a better life.[149] A few weeks later, he and Meghan Keneally reported about the journey of twin 12-year-old Syrian refugee boys, Khaled and Fahad, fromDamascus, Syria to the Serbian border town ofHorgoš.[150] In November 2015, Moran spoke withPope Francis aboutLittle Sisters of the Poor andtheir case about contraceptives concerning theAffordable Care Act.[151]
In January 2016, Moran reported from northern Syria where Russian troops were on the ground.Major GeneralIgor Konashenkov was a spokesman for theMinistry of Defense. Human rights organizations claim that Russia's war effort there was slaughtering civilians.[152] In February 2016, he withGillian Mohney reported on the mosquito-borneZika virus continuing to spread throughCentral and South America. Pope Francis stated that contraception could be seen as "the lesser of two evils" if women are concerned about having children with the birth defect microcephaly. The pope compared the situation to a decree issued byPope Paul VI, which said nuns in Africa could usecontraception due to the threat of rape.[153] In March 2016, he and Jackie Jesko reported fromKathmandu, Nepal since the devastating earthquake in April 2015. The earthquake cased so much damage thatDurbar Square did not reopen for two months.[154] A few weeks later, Moran reported on thedeadly terror attacks in Brussels where thirty-two died and with talking to Secretary of State John Kerry about him vacationing in Europe.Justin Fishel and Elizabeth McLaughlin contributed to the story.[155] In April 2016, he reported on the more than 70 refugee men, women and children who were lost at sea and turned up byLesbos. More than half a million refugees fled war-torn countries. Those who survived the journey have mostly moved north toward Germany and Sweden.[156] Pope Francis visited Lesbos and met with refugees on the Greek island. About 4,000 refugees were housed in detention camps because of a deal made with the European Union andTurkey.[157]
In May 2016, Moran visitedNorth Korea. Citizens were startled when the press corps walked down the long avenue leading to the grandApril 25 hall. They waited for an hour and then rain began falling. The press corps was then directed back to their buses and returned to the hotel.[158] He and others of the press corps went to theKim Jong Suk Silk Mill, named after the wife of North Korea founderKim Il Sung. Massive mosaic portraits of the men flanked the doors. They were firmly instructed that if they took pictures not to crop or leave anything out.[159] Moran reported thatKim Jong Un made a major declaration during North Korea'sseventh congress of theWorkers' Party. Kim also pledged that North Korea would follow a policy ofnon-proliferation of nuclear technology. He wanted to improve and normalize relations with countries that have been "hostile" in the past.[160]
In June 2016, Moran reported from theUSS Harry S. Truman, aNimitz-class aircraft carrier, had been battling ISIS since December 2015 in both Syria and Iraq.[161] In August 2016, he, with Jackie Jesko contributing, reported on the that donations are sometimes going to orphanage owners' pockets in Nepal putting children at risk.[162] In September 2016, Moran reported onLeslie Jones' twitter troll, Milo Yiannopoulos, who was banned after attacking the actress.Emily Taguchi andClaire Pederson contributed to the story.[163] A few days later, he, with Jackie Jesko contributing, reported on Yunika, aKumari, in Nepal. She was 7 years old at the time.[164] In October 2016, Moran reported that ifEvan McMullin wins his home state ofUtah, it will pull electoral votes away.Megan Redman andLauren Effron contributed to the story.[165] In November 2016, he reported on withDonald Trump leading theGOP ticket, many evangelicals are at an impasse. Claire Pederson,John Kapetaneas, and Lauren Effron contributed to the story.[166]
On June 8, 2025, Moran was suspended by ABC News for a midnight tweet (which Moran later deleted) about President Trump and hisDeputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller. The tweet read,
Yes, he is one of the people who conceptualizes the impulses of the Trumpist movement and translates them into policy. But that's not what's interesting about Miller. 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 only a means to an end, and that end is his own glorification. That's his spiritual nourishment.[202][203][204]
Miller wrote on social media, "privileged anchors and reporters narrating and gatekeeping our society have been radicals adopting a journalist's pose."[205][206] An ABC News spokesperson stated the network "does not condone subjective personal attacks on others. The post does not reflect the views of ABC News and violated our standards."[206][207] White House Press SecretaryKaroline Leavitt said, "This is unhinged and unacceptable". Leavitt labeled him a "so-called ‘journalist'". She referred to Moran's post as a "rampage".[203][204][206][208] On June 10, 2025, it was announced that ABC would immediately "part ways" with Moran; ABC News had previously said Moran was near the end of his contract term.[12][203][204][206] On June 17, 2025, Moran said that he stood by his post criticizing Trump and his adviser.[209] He said "It wasn’t a drunk tweet" to defend his post of Miller on X.[210]
Dan Kennedy thought that ABC was right to suspend Moran, but not fire him.[211] Kennedy quoted media critic Margaret Sullivan,
I’m amazed that Moran posted what he did. It's well outside the bounds of what straight-news reporters do. It's more than just calling a lie a lie, or identifying a statement as racist – all of which I think is necessary. Moran is not a pundit or a columnist or any other kind of opinion journalist…. I would hate to see Moran – with his worthy career at ABC News, where he's been for almost 30 years – lose his job over this. I hope that the honchos at ABC let a brief suspension serve its purpose, and put him back to work.[211]
Kennedy disagreed with people who thought ABC was correct in dismissing Moran.[211] Tom Jones ofPoynter media reported that Leavitt called for ABC News to punish Moran.[212] Jones wrote,
I traded emails with another former journalist who told me that, in a group chat with other journalists, they settled on this general point: that maybe what Moran posted was true, but by sending his tweet, he played directly into the hands of those on the right who are trying to undermine trust in the media and, in many ways, damage our democracy.[212]
Colby Hall ofMediaite thought that Moran made a mistake like a late-night lapse when you slip up and the truth comes out a little too unvarnished. He pointed outMegyn Kelly's blast of PresidentJoe Biden which now she is demanding a journalist be punished for criticizing a president. Hall thought that Miller considered Moran's dismissal a win.[213]
On June 11, 2025, Moran announced onX that he would continue his reporting fromSubstack[214] after his dismissal by ABC News,[215][216] where his publication there is entitled,Real Patriotism with Terry Moran.[217]
Moran has been married twice. He married his first wife, Karen Osler, in the late 1980s. They have one child together.[2][220] In 2015, he became engaged to his second wife, Johanna Cox, a Chinese-languagelinguist and Chinaintelligence analyst who previously worked as a journalist atElle magazine.[221] She was the winner of the reality television showStylista.[222][223] The couple have three children.[2]
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