A veteran correspondent was suspended by ABC News after a Project Veritas video caught him on camera criticizing the media and calling himself a “socialist.”

The network’s senior correspondent David Wright was suspended late Tuesday following the release of the latest footage from Project Veritas which showed him accusing ABC News of not reporting some newsworthy stories and for ignoring some of President Trump’s accomplishments.



(Source: Project Veritas)

“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. “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.”

He also spoke about Trump, who he referred to as “this f*cking president,” and the coverage that networks give him, saying the media “can’t figure out how to challenge” him.

“We don’t hold him to account. We also don’t give him credit for what things he does do,” the Emmy-winning correspondent 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 56-year-old, who has reported for ABC’s “World News Tonight,” “Good Morning America,” “Nightline” and “20/20,” expounded on his own political views in the video which also included an ABC News producer.

“I would consider myself a socialist, like I think there should be national health insurance,” he said. “I’m totally fine with reining in corporations, I think they’re too many billionaires, and I think there’s a wealth gap – that’s a problem.”

On the topic of coverage of the 2020 presidential race, Wright contended that ABC News is not “terribly interested in voters,” pointing out Democrats like former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

“I don’t think we’re terribly interested in voters. We need the story to move on, and so we’re happy to have Buttigieg be the story last week, and we’re happy to have Klobuchar as a new subject this week, and then when we’re tired of her, we’ll be delighted if Elizabeth Warren kicks ass in Nevada because then we have something new to talk about,” Wright said.

The correspondent, who joined ABC News in 2000, was suspended and will reportedly be reassigned “to avoid any possible appearance of bias” upon his return, according to Fox News.

“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 spokesperson said in a statement. “David Wright has been suspended, and to avoid any possible appearance of bias, he will be reassigned away from political coverage when he returns.”

An insider at the network told Fox News that Wright had been tricked into making the remarks.

“Wright and the producer didn’t know who they were talking to. Didn’t know they were being recorded,” the insider said. “The person introduced himself as a documentary filmmaker and didn’t say he was recording.”

Wright’s suspension came a few months after a Project Veritas video released in November showed criticism of ABC by “Good Morning America” anchor Amy Robach, who was caught on a hot mic slamming the network for not going ahead with her Jeffrey Epstein story three years ago.