PBS host Judy Woodruff on Wednesday apologized for reporting that former President Donald Trump was urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to cut a cease-fire deal with Hamas "because it’s believed it would help the Harris campaign."
"I want to clarify my remarks on the PBS News special on Monday night about the ongoing cease fire talks in the Middle East," Woodruff wrote on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
"As I said, this was not based on my original reporting; I was referring to reports I had read, in Axios and Reuters, about former President Trump having spoken to the Israeli Prime Minister," she continued. "In the live TV moment, I repeated the story because I hadn't seen later reporting that both sides denied it. This was a mistake, and I apologize for it.”
Woodruff was immediately criticized for her reporting.
"This is a lie from @JudyWoodruff - shame on @pbs for having 4 other people sit in silence while Woodruff slimes Trump with a lie," said Richard Grenell, former acting director of national intelligence under the Trump administration. "Why doesn’t PBS have dissenting views? This isn’t journalism. It’s advocacy on behalf of Democrats. Shame on Judy."
"Judy Woodruff … needs to retract her statement – if she has any, I don’t know, integrity as a journalist – that Donald Trump is actively working with Bibi Netanyahu to somehow delay or tank a hostage deal for political reasons," Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., said at Trump Tower in Chicago. "That is false, it’s ridiculous, and by the way, Netanyahu – don’t take it from me or the campaign – Netanyahu’s office has absolutely denied it."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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