On March 10, 2024, during a broadcast interview for television program “This Week” with Rep. Nancy Mace (SC-1), prominent news anchor George Stephanopoulos falsely stated and repeated more than 10 times throughout the interview that "judges and two separate juries have found him [Donald Trump] liable for rape" when questioning the reasons why the congresswoman had decided to endorse Trump. At the time, Stephanopoulos had no clue of the dramatic aftermath that would soon follow. United States President-elect Donald Trump sued ABC News, which broadcast that interview, through a Florida Federal District Court. Trump, in the filed lawsuit, strongly stated that Stephanopoulos’ words were “false, intentional, malicious and designed to cause harm.”

On air, Stephanopoulos was referring to a specific case from 2023, while misspeaking about Trump. Stephanopoulos’ televised statements were the basis of the suit because, as found during trial in New York civil court in 2023, Trump had previously sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll—not raped, which has a very strict definition that is outlined in New York penal law, but it is not entirely the same as societal and other definitions of the word.  

The day following the Florida court’s ruling that Donald Trump and George Stephanopoulos would both need to sit for a deposition, ABC News settled the lawsuit on December 14, 2024. With the publicly filed settlement, ABC News needs to pay a $15 million charitable contribution to Donald Trump’s future presidential library. Additionally, ABC News will cover Donald Trump’ legal fees by paying $1 million, which will go to the law firm of his attorney, Alejandro Brito. ABC News also will be issuing an apology towards Donald Trump. Additionally, on the digital story regarding Stephanopoulos’ interview, ABC News must write an editorial note expressing remorse for the claims that initiated the lawsuit, stating that “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.”

This is not Trump’s first time suing a major American news organization, as he has previously attempted to sue CBS, CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. He has said that he will be continuing to sue media organizations, stating that “we have to straighten out the press. Our press is very corrupt.” While there has been some confusion and questioning regarding ABC’s reasoning in settling rather than unfolding the case in court, one reason may be that the company that owns ABC, Disney, would benefit from positive interactions with Donald Trump in regards to business, especially on the eve of his new term in office. 

Information retrieved from NPR, CNN, AP, Reuters, and BBC.