ABC News suspended veteran correspondent David Wright on Wednesday, after he was secretly recorded by the right-wing group Project Veritas calling himself a socialist and criticizing both President Trump and his own network.
Filmed last month in New Hampshire, the video consists of choppy, hidden-camera footage in which Wright calls Trump a “dick” and compares him to a “nightmare spouse you can’t win an argument with.” While Wright said the network doesn’t “hold [Trump] to account,” he also said it doesn’t give Trump “credit for the things he does do.”
Asked about his personal politics by the Project Veritas operative, whom CNN reports presented himself as a documentarian, Wright said he considers himself a “socialist.” He added: “I think there should be national health insurance. I’m totally fine with reining in corporations, I think there are too many billionaires, and I think there’s a wealth gap — that’s a problem.”
In a statement on Wright’s suspension, an ABC News spokesperson said, “Any action that damages our reputation for fairness and impartiality or gives the appearance of compromising it harms ABC News and the individuals involved.” The statement also said that Wright “will be reassigned away from political coverage when he returns” in order “to avoid any possible appearance of bias.”
While Project Veritas is playing up Wright’s comments about socialism and Trump, the correspondent’s harshest criticism was for ABC News and the way the network covers politics. “I feel terrible about it,” he said. “I feel that the truth suffers, the voters are poorly informed, and people also have the opportunity to tune into whatever they want to hear.”
He said ABC News is now “all self-promotional,” and “you can’t watch Good Morning America without there being a Disney princess or a Marvel avenger appearing.”
