In an industry defined by its unwritten rules and a staunch defense of its own impartiality, a former insider’s admission can feel like a tremor before an earthquake. That’s exactly what happened when Terry Moran, a respected veteran of ABC News for nearly three decades, broke the silence to admit what many have long suspected: the network, and by extension, the broader mainstream media, is fundamentally biased against Donald Trump. This isn’t the kind of sensationalized claim one might hear from a political pundit; it’s a candid and sobering reflection from a man who spent his career inside the machine, and his words are now threatening to shatter the already-fragile trust between the media and the public.

Moran’s confession comes in the wake of a highly public termination from ABC News, a decision that followed a controversial social media post where he used blistering language to describe Trump and a key adviser. The network swiftly moved to sever ties, citing a violation of company policy. But in the quiet aftermath of his ousting, Moran has delivered a more profound and self-reflective critique, one that goes far beyond a single tweet. He has chosen to speak out not as a disgruntled former employee, but as a journalist grappling with the systemic failures of his own profession.

The crux of Moran’s argument is that the bias is not an intentional, “malevolent” act. Instead, he describes it as an unintentional yet deeply ingrained problem—a “kind of deafness” that has plagued “old news divisions” for years. This deafness, he explains, is a direct result of a stunning lack of “viewpoint diversity” within newsrooms. He paints a picture of an insular culture where a vast majority of journalists and editors hold similar political and cultural beliefs, creating an echo chamber that is ill-equipped to understand, much less fairly cover, the half of the country that supports Donald Trump.

Moran suggests that this institutional blind spot has created a paradoxical situation. While news crews are sent out to cover Trump rallies and events, the resulting reports often feel “weirdly anthropological and inaccurate,” like “trying to understand nature by visiting a zoo.” The media, in his view, is so detached from the lived experiences and motivations of Trump’s base that it can’t help but cover them as if they are a foreign, alien species. This approach, he argues, has only served to fuel the distrust and animosity that defines the relationship between a significant portion of the country and the press.

This is a powerful indictment, particularly coming from someone who had a front-row seat to the very dynamics he’s now critiquing. For years, critics on the right have accused the media of being out of touch and biased, and their claims have often been dismissed as partisan attacks. But with a veteran insider like Moran now echoing those sentiments, it gives a newfound legitimacy to the argument. His words aren’t a simple political attack; they are a profound, uncomfortable truth that the media establishment has been desperate to ignore.

In a media landscape where every outlet is fighting for clicks and credibility, Moran’s admission is a self-inflicted wound. It confirms the suspicions of millions of Americans who have long felt that the news is not being reported to them but instead being preached at them. It serves as a stark warning to an industry that is seemingly more concerned with its internal cultural norms than with its foundational mission of objective, balanced reporting. As Moran himself put it, he had a reputation inside the newsroom for trying to get his colleagues to “see the other side,” to “walk a mile in the shoes of MAGA.” His firing, and subsequent revelations, suggest that the media’s deafness is not only a professional failing but a moral one—a refusal to hear, to understand, and to serve a country that is more divided than ever before. This confession is more than just a footnote in a journalist’s career; it’s a mirror held up to an industry on the brink of a great reckoning.