ABC News apologized late Tuesday for a misleading edit around a quote from former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer that portrayed him as being harshly critical of President Trump press secretary Sean Spicer.
From The Hill
Fleischer made a series of tweets complaining about the error, which led to ABC’s apology.
“Nightline aired a segment Monday night about the first three days of the new administration including Sean Spicer’s statement to the press on Saturday. As part of the report, we interviewed former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer. In editing the piece for air, his quote was shortened and as a result his opinions mischaracterized. We are fixing the piece online to include his full quote and context.
“We apologize and regret the error.”
The original ABC quotation of Fleischer that aired on “Nightline” said: “[Spicer’s Saturday] briefing made me uncomfortable. It was too truculent, too tough. It looks as if the ball was dropped on Saturday.”
Here’s what Fleischer actually said:
“It looks to me if the ball was dropped on Saturday, Sean recovered it and ran for a 1st down on Monday.” 2/4
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 24, 2017
Here is how they chopped my quote: “It looks to me if the ball was dropped on Saturday” after ABC referred to “deliberate falsehoods.” 3/4
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 24, 2017
When the press distorts someone’s quote and twists their words, we all have a problem. 5/5
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 24, 2017
When the press distorts someone’s quote and twists their words, we all have a problem. 5/5
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 24, 2017
It is not known if anyone responsible for the report was reprimanded. The Hill has reached out to ABC News for comment.
