The press is terrified of Donald Trump. Their fear isn't around the Harris campaign's attacks regarding the "end of democracy." Instead, this new fear is more personal. George Stephanopoulos was forced into settling Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit, and now the rest of the press is scared. Here's an answer to that: stop reporting defamatory things.

Caroline Hendrie, executive director of the Society of Professional Journalists, issued a statement saying, "It should not be seen as normal for powerful elected officials to wage legal campaigns against members of the press and their employers. We are concerned that even the perception that media organizations must offer large payouts to settle legal challenges from public officials will have a chilling effect on the kind of independent and fearless reporting that our nation needs to hold the powerful to account."

Here's the problem: Stephanopoulos didn't do that in the viral interview where he blasted sexual assault survivor Representative Nancy Mace. Stephanopoulos berated and belittled Mace for supporting Trump and doing so with her background of being raped. It was a thoroughly disgusting interview on its face.

Stephanopoulos didn't stop there; he tried fact-checking Mace but didn't get it right. He said, "Two separate juries have found [Trump] liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape."

That's untrue. As the E. Jean Carroll case stated, and more responsible outlets like the Associated Press reported, "The verdict was split: Jurors rejected Carroll's claim that she was raped, finding Trump responsible for a lesser degree of sexual abuse." After the trial, Trump's lawyer disagreed with the decision but told reporters, "Part of me was obviously very happy that Donald Trump was not branded a rapist."

As Mace noted in the interview, rape is a crime which Trump has never been convicted of in any court. Stephanopoulos was asserting something the Carroll court, nor any criminal court, had found and then berating Mace with her background. That's not reporting in any form, and when forced to defend it, ABC News and its parent company, Disney, waved the white flag.

It should be noted that after Carroll won her case, she went out partying in New York City with media elites. According to the Daily Mail, "MSNBC's Molly Jong-Fast threw a celebrity party in her honor," and "Jong-Fast's MSNBC colleague Lawrence O'Donnell was among those paying tribute alongside former Saturday Night Live producer Marci Klein, New York Times opinion writer Lydia Polgreen and Sarah Ellison of The Washington Post."

Carroll also appeared on Stephanopoulos's morning show, ABC's Good Morning America, and discussed how she'd spend the money. In an interview on Rachel Maddow's show, Carroll's lawyers got visibly embarrassed as she detailed all the fun shopping she planned on doing with the money, including a new wardrobe, shoes, and more.

This defamation case involved more than just the basics of Stephanopoulos's conduct during the Nancy Mace interview. For the press, it was a rejection of their ability to take news stories and beat everyone on the head with outlandish claims. If they want to attack Trump, they should get the facts straight, starting with what a jury declared.

That's why it's hard to feel bad for Stephanopoulos or anyone at ABC News. The New York Post reports sources telling them that Stephanopoulos is "apoplectic" and "humiliated" by the decision. Those sources went further and said morale at the network was in the dumps.

And it doesn't stop there, "Debra OConnell, who oversees ABC News, paid a visit to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump."Like the Morning Joe crew at MSNBC and other outlets, everyone is trying to build a working relationship with the incoming President.

So while Carroll spends her time spending her money, ABC News will now spend its money helping build the Donald J. Trump presidential library, and its Disney bosses are trying to develop a working relationship with Trump. It's about as complete of a reversal as you'll find.

It's wild how fast politics has shifted in the past year. At the beginning of 2024, all these lawsuits were either in action or theoretical. Democrats believed these cases would help them defeat Trump. It turns out the cases boosted Trump and hurt his rivals in the Republican primaries. And now, all the far-left resistance types in the press are facing the reality that their networks need Trump to survive the next few years.

The defamation settlement is the final nail in that pivot in the press. Stephanopoulos got to be the face of it because of his deplorable interview with Nancy Mace and his defiance in the aftermath. That gave Trump an easy target - now the rest of the press is coming to Trump.

It's a total reversal. Congrats to Stephanopoulos for being the face of this pivot.