NBC host Chuck Todd said he would have felt “abandoned” if he were George Stephanopoulos, the anchor of ABC’s “This Week,” during the legal dispute that led to a $15 million settlement with President-elect Donald Trump.
The settlement was announced publicly on Saturday, with ABC News agreeing to make a $15 million charitable contribution to a “Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for the Plaintiff, as Presidents of the United States of America have established in the past.” The network will also pay $1 million in Trump’s attorney fees.
Todd, who previously hosted NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said he would have felt “abandoned” by his network if he were in Stephanopoulos’ shoes. “This was a decision to buy off bad PR,” he said, adding that he would have “felt like my network abandoned me” if he were in Stephanopoulos’ situation.
Stephanopoulos had sued Trump after a tense exchange with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on his March 10 episode of “This Week,” during which he repeatedly suggested Trump was “liable for rape.” Trump had actually been found liable for “sexual abuse” by a jury in a previous case.
Stephanopoulos did not mention the settlement on his Sunday show, sparking criticism from Mace’s office and women’s groups, which called for an apology from the anchor.
Todd acknowledged that he does not know the specific circumstances that led to the settlement, but said that the decision could set a difficult precedent for other media companies. He suggested that the decision may have been made to avoid potential embarrassment in the discovery process, which could have revealed more information that could have been embarrassing or damaging to the network.