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“I feel terrible about it. 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,” Wright said in the video where only occasional glimpses of his face are seen.
United States ABC News said Wednesday that it suspended veteran correspondent David Wright after he was heard describing himself as a “socialist,” and criticizing the outlet’s political coverage in an undercover video released by right-wing website Project Veritas.
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“Any action that damages our reputation for fairness and impartiality or gives the appearance of compromising it harms ABC News and the individuals involved,” an ABC News spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson added that "to avoid any possible appearance of bias, [Wright] will be reassigned away from political coverage when he returns.”
The journalist was covering the New Hampshire primary for “Nightline” earlier this month when he purportedly made the comments to a member of Project Veritas.
In the seven-minute video, Wright shares his disappointment with how the network covers the news.
“I feel terrible about it. 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,” Wright said in the video where only occasional glimpses of his face are seen.
“And so, it’s like there’s no upside, or our bosses don’t see an upside in doing the job we’re supposed to do, which is to speak truth to power and hold people accountable.”
Shame on @ABC & @Disney 4 suspending #DavidWright for being right! He was on his own time in PRIVATE conversation & only speaking truth. I’ve watched ABC my entire life, but may rethink that since they’re punishing someone who did NOTHING WRONG! @ABC should rescind the suspension pic.twitter.com/0rvpQvBn8U
— Beth ❤️#Resistance (@ladydragyn) February 27, 2020
Wright criticized the coverage of U.S. President Donald Trump.
“We don’t hold him to account. We also don’t give him credit for what things he does do,” Wright said. “We’re interested in three things: the outrage of the day, the investigation, and the palace intrigue of who’s backstabbing whom. Beyond that, we don’t really cover the guy.”
The journalist is also asked if he considers himself a democratic socialist.
“Like, more than that, I consider myself a socialist,” Wright appears to respond, explaining that he favors “national health insurance,” “reining in corporations” and narrowing the wealth gap.
Wright has been working with ABC News for 20 years, according to the network’s website. His reporting has been featured on all of the outlet’s biggest platforms, including “World News Tonight” and “Good Morning America."
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