When Trump Bullied Terry Moran, We Missed a Crucial Opportunity
During his recent interview with ABC’s Terry Moran, Donald Trump did what he always does when cornered: he lied, deflected, and turned up the bullying.
Caught spreading a false claim about an MS-13 tattoo—one even Trump’s own team had to know was photoshopped—he got called out. But instead of owning up, Trump tried to bulldoze through with gaslighting and dominance. “Terry, Terry, Terry,” he repeated, in that sing-song tone bullies use when they feel their grip slipping. And then, the classic manipulator’s pivot: “They’re giving you the big break of a lifetime. I picked you. But you’re not being very nice.”
This is how an abuser talks.
To his credit, Moran didn’t fold. He stood his ground. But in that moment—when Trump was exposed and visibly squirming—there was a rare opening. Instead of moving on to Ukraine, imagine if Moran had paused, looked him in the eye, and said:
“Donald. Donald. You’re lying, and you want me to agree with the lie. Why do you do that? What are you trying to get me to play along with? Are you threatening me?”
That moment could’ve shattered the spell. Because Trump thrives in chaos and deflection—but when someone calmly names the behavior, he flinches. He loses control.
Maybe next time, Terry.
And maybe next time, the rest of us won’t let him slip away either.
