Embarrassment for George Stephanopoulos as Archrival David Muir Named to Time 100 After Stephanopoulos Forced To Apologize to Trump

ABC News star George Stephanopoulos, who was reportedly humiliated after being forced to apologize for falsely stating multiple times that President Trump was found “liable for rape,” is getting another reason to be upset as his rival, journalist David Muir, has been named to Time Magazine’s “Most Influential People” list. In the “Icons” section of the “100 Most Influential People” list, Time named Mr. Muir, 51. The tribute, written by fellow ABC News star and his predecessor as the anchor of “World News Tonight,” Diane Sawyer, 79, reads, “Every night more than 8 million Americans trust him to make sense of the day. Like Peter Jennings before him, David is authoritative and dynamic.”“I think I know what destiny looks like because I’ve seen a photo of a serious 13-year-old boy, talking his way into an internship at the local TV station. Now he’s the anchor chosen for interviews by Popes and Presidents,” Ms. Sawyer said. “He shows up calm, respectful, and fearless. I am lucky that my successor is also the irreverent friend I want to hang out with when the camera shuts down.”The glowing words for Mr. Muir come as multiple reports indicate that Mr. Stephanopoulos, the former Clinton aide turned ABC News anchor who, for the decade since Ms. Sawyer was pushed into semi-retirement, has been “top dog” at ABC News, has seen his stock at the network decline.Tensions between Mr. Muir and Mr. Stephanopoulos have also been reported. They reportedly began when the network searched for a replacement for Ms. Sawyer to host “World News Tonight,” and chose Mr. Muir instead of Mr. Stephanopoulos. David Muir has made Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people. TimeMr. Muir was absent from his program on Wednesday evening, giving his substitute host Linsey Davis the opportunity to spend a good chunk of the program discussing the Time 100 accolade. On ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” co-host Robin Roberts gushed as she read through some of the names, and said, “David Muir! Our own David Muir.”Mr. Stephanopoulos then frostily noted, “Congratulations to David and all the nominees.”ABC News did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.However, a spokesman for the network told the Daily Mail it is a “tired narrative” and “everyone at ABC News is proud of David’s recognition.”Mr. Stephanopoulos was forced to apologize to President Trump in December after he falsely and repeatedly said during an episode of ABC News’ “This Week” in March of 2024 that a jury had found the president “liable for rape.”Mr. Trump sued the network for defamation, and ABC’s parent company, Disney, decided to settle and pay the 47th president $16 million even as media journalists suggested that the case was winnable for the network due to the high “actual malice” standard needed to win such cases. The settlement was denounced by the left as a craven attempt by Disney to curry favor with the incoming administration and avoid a potentially drawn out legal battle that could include an embarrassing discovery process.As part of the settlement, the network issued an apology, saying, “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.”After the settlement was announced, the New York Post reported that Mr. Stephanopoulos was “apoplectic” and “humiliated.” Months later, the Post reported he was “miserable” and that the network was looking for potential replacements. A source close to the anchor denied that Mr. Stephanopoulos is upset, telling the paper that he is “engaged” and “as committed as ever.”Mr. Stephanopoulos’ salary is believed to be around $25 million per annum, significantly more than Mr. Muir’s estimated salary of around $10 million. Even after the settlement, it was reported that the network renewed his contract without a significant reduction.The renewal came despite Mr. Stephanopoulos being completely — and oddly — absent from ABC News’ most important event in many years, its hosting of the only presidential debate of the 2024 election. Mr. Muir co-moderated the debate with Ms. Davis, and Mr. Stephanopoulos didn’t even participate in the post-debate analysis presided over by ABC personality Martha Raddatz, who was accused in 2016 of crying on air on election night at the news that Mr. Trump had won (she denies crying). A casual observer might think that his absence was due to Mr. Trump’s disdain for him (Mr. Trump refers to him as “George Slopodopoulos” and “Liddle’ George”), but Mr. Trump often does interviews with journalists he has harshly criticized. More careful observers of ABC’s Kremlinesque internal machinations believe that Mr. Muir edged out Mr. Stephanopoulos internally and was the only talent ever offered by the network as a moderator.Mr. Stephanopoulos’ outsized compensation is attributable to two-hour, inexpensively produced “Good Morning America” being a major profit driver for Disney, while “World News Tonight,” despite a much larger audience, is not. Yet ratings for “Good Morning America” have been in major — and accelerating — decline. Mr. Stephanopoulos’ most recent major interview was when he conducted the first TV interview with President Biden following the 2024 presidential debate from which Mr. Stephanopoulos was absent. As a Democratic insider, Mr. Biden’s team may have felt more comfortable with Mr. Stephanopoulos for the highly sensitive interview, though Biden’s performance was widely panned. Shortly after the debate, the ABC News host was caught on camera at Manhattan in his workout clothes, telling a passerby he did not believe Mr. Biden could serve another four years. The incident was a highly unusual slip for the famously guarded TV star.Despite a rough 2024, Mr. Stephanopoulos is reportedly still well liked by top network executives. One source told the New York Post that “no one wants to humiliate George by firing him.”However, well-read entertainment media reporter Matthew Belloni told Puck he thought that in light of the settlement and allegations of a liberal bias, ABC News and Mr. Stephanopoulos could look for a way for a “mutual parting of ways.”The co-hosts of “Good Morning America” are collectively believed to earn $75 million a year, which is about half of what the show brings in from advertising revenue. With the network trying to cut costs, there is some speculation that Mr. Stephanopoulos could be ousted in the summer or later in the year. “Fire them all,” Mr. Belloni, whose thinking tracks that of the Hollywood business establishment, said.

Embarrassment for George Stephanopoulos as Archrival David Muir Named to Time 100 After Stephanopoulos Forced To Apologize to Trump

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