Billy Bush claims ABC News had a division to ‘get’ Trump in 2016 election

Former TV host Billy Bush has claimed that ABC News had an entire “division” dedicated to “catching” Donald Trump during the 2016 election.

“ABC News had a segment. They had a segment with 75 people in it, because I knew the guy who ran the segment, and that was basically dedicated to catching him,” Bush said on Thursday’s episode of the “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” podcast.

Bush, caught up in the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape that nearly derailed Trump’s first presidential campaign, recalled on Peacock his last conversation with then-NBC News chairman Andy Lack before Bush’s ouster.

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“I said, ‘Andy, I see what you’re trying to do with this. [the “Access Hollywood” footage] and what do you want to weaponize that with because there’s a debate Sunday night, a second debate with Hillary and Donald,” Bush said. ”And of course that was the first question out of Anderson Cooper’s mouth. He was the moderator.”

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“That’s it! There was always a ‘it’ that would convince Trump, but that was definitely it at the time,” he continued. “But I said, ‘Look, this is wrong. I understand there’s something here that you think is relevant, but it’s wrong. So, I’m chatting with Sean Hannity for 15 minutes before we sit down for the interview. The camera is rolling. No matter what we talk about, it doesn’t work… this can’t be happening.’ [weaponized] “But this was a special situation because of who was competing and how they felt about it.”

When asked for comment, Bush declined to identify the person who claimed to be running the allegedly anti-Trump segment of ABC News, but suggested that the person no longer works for the network. ABC News did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Sage Steele and Billy Bush opened up to Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity on the “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” podcast. (FOX News Media)

The Disney-owned network has had a long and contentious relationship with Trump. In 2017, ABC News was forced to retract a report claiming that dismissed National Security Advisor Michael Flynn would testify that Trump had ordered him to contact Russians on foreign policy while he was still a candidate. The report raised the possibility of Trump being impeached and caused the stock market to plummet. Brian Ross, the lead investigative reporter behind the false report, was later removed from the network.

ABC News in December 2024, just weeks before Trump is inaugurated for a second term Paid 16 million dollars in compensation Trump filed the lawsuit against Trump earlier in the year after he filed a defamation lawsuit over comments made by “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos.

Stephanopoulos claimed that Trump was “found responsible for rape” in the E. Jean Carroll case, although a civil jury found Trump responsible for “sexual abuse.” ABC News issued an apology as part of the settlement, which was reportedly approved by then-Disney CEO Bob Iger.

Last year, longtime ABC News correspondent Terry Moran was fired for attacking Trump and white house Stephen Miller’s assistant on social media.

ABC News paid Trump a $16 million settlement in December 2024 after George Stephanopoulos falsely claimed that Trump was “found liable for rape” in the E. Jean Carroll case. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

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