ABC News insider says there was 'no alternative' but for network to fire Terry Moran over anti-Trump post

ABC News was left with "no alternative" but to let longtime correspondent Terry Moran go over his now-deleted X post attacking President Donald Trump and top White House aide Stephen Miller, according to one network staffer.

"It's just sad honestly," the ABC News staffer told Fox News Digital. "It's sad for him, a long-time colleague, friend, a good person, family man… It's just unfortunate, but there was no alternative, especially in these times."

The network insider acknowledged that, with the industry-wide issue of distrust of the legacy media, not addressing Moran's post promptly and having the drama dragged out could have cost ABC viewership. 

"We f---ing took it seriously and dealt with it pretty g--d--- quickly," they said. 

TERRY MORAN OUT AT ABC NEWS FOLLOWING X POST ATTACKING TRUMP, STEPHEN MILLER

Terry Moran is out at ABC News after his social media rant aimed at President Donald Trump and top White House aide Stephen Miller. (ABC/David Russell via Getty Images)

The ABC staffer said Moran, who had been with the network for 28 years, was beloved by his colleagues and insisted he wasn't some "psycho liberal" like his X post may have suggested, saying he used to clash internally with liberal colleagues over politics. 

"It's like a waxing and waning, you know, type of, like, whimsical philosopher… that was his shtick," the staffer said. "He was very folksy in the way that he did things like this… I kind of see maybe what he was trying to do. He used the wrong f---ing words, obviously. I can get maybe what he was trying to say, but like, dude, put the phone down and go to bed."

ABC NEWS STAFF DISAPPOINTED BY TERRY MORAN'S ‘VERY STUPID’ ATTACK ON TRUMP THAT LED TO SUSPENSION

Moran was officially axed Tuesday by ABC News, just before his contract with the network was set to expire on Friday. 

"We are at the end of our agreement with Terry Moran and based on his recent post – which was a clear violation of ABC News policies – we have made the decision to not renew," a spokesperson for ABC News told Fox News Digital.

"At ABC News, we hold all of our reporters to the highest standards of objectivity, fairness and professionalism, and we remain committed to delivering straightforward, trusted journalism," the spokesperson added. 

An ABC News insider told Fox News Digital it was left with "no alternative" for Moran.  (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Moran found himself in hot water both inside and outside the Disney-owned network when he called Trump and Miller "world-class" haters early Sunday morning. Moran, who's been with the network since 1997, was initially suspended after ABC News honchos woke up to the viral backlash.

"The thing about Stephen Miller is not that he is the brains behind Trumpism," Moran began his post. "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," Moran wrote. "You can see this just by looking at him because you can see that his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. He eats his hate."

Moran's post went on to also call Trump a "world-class hater" but added that "his hatred [is] only a means to an end, and that end [is] his own glorification. That's his spiritual nourishment." 

ABC'S TERRY MORAN SUSPENDED AFTER JOURNALIST SLAMS TRUMP, TOP ADVISOR IN SINCE-DELETED POST

Moran called President Donald Trump and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller "world-class haters" in the now-deleted social media post. (JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

Moran’s firing came less than six weeks after he interviewed Trump as part of a major primetime special for ABC marking Trump's first 100 days in office. Trump repeatedly chided Moran for his various lines of questioning. 

"They’re giving you the big break of a lifetime," Trump told Moran. "You’re doing the interview. I picked you because, frankly, I never heard of you, but that’s OK. I picked you, Terry, but you’re not being very nice."

ABC News previously settled a defamation lawsuit Trump brought against the network, shelling out $15 million and issuing an apology last December after George Stephanopoulos falsely claimed a jury found Trump "liable for rape." He was actually found liable for sexual abuse in a civil case brought by accuser E. Jean Carroll, which has a distinct definition under New York law.

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The latest network drama comes as public trust in the media continues to steadily erode. A Gallup survey last year showed a record-low 31% of Americans expressed at least a "fair amount" of trust in the media to report the news accurately.