Journalist Judy Woodruff speaks during a tribute service for former US First Lady Rosalynn Carter, at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 28, 2023. Carter died on November 19, aged 96, just two days after joining her husband in hospice care at their house in Plains. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
OAN Staff Brooke Mallory 11:45 AM – Thursday, August 22, 2024
Anchor of “PBS NewsHour,” Judy Woodruff, apologized on Wednesday after reporting a particular story about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former President Donald Trump, a report that both men have vehemently denied.
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In a stubborn apology on X (Twitter), Woodruff insinuated she had falsely claimed that in an attempt to further his political campaign, Trump advised Netanyahu to put off an agreement between Israel and Hamas regarding the Israeli hostages until after the 2024 presidential election.
She blamed other news outlets like Axios and Rueters for her own dissemination of false information.
“This was a mistake and I apologize for it,” Woodruff stated.
As a seasoned industry professional, Woodruff has “covered politics and other news for more than three decades at CNN, NBC and PBS,” according to the Reporters Committee For Freedom Of The Press.
I want to clarify my remarks on the PBS News special on Monday night about the ongoing cease fire talks in the Middle East. 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…
During a Monday segment of the network’s news program, Woodruff said: “The reporting is that former President Trump is on the phone with the Prime Minister of Israel, urging him not to cut a deal right now, because it’s believed that would help the Harris campaign.”
However, the day after, Woodruff’s reporting was condemned by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office. Netanyahu representatives told The Jerusalem Post outlet last week that the anchor promoted “a complete lie.”
In a separate statement, Netanyahu’s office also refuted Axios‘ report that the prime minister and Trump had spoken over the phone on August 14th regarding the cease-fire agreement and the hostage situation in Gaza. Last Friday, Axios retracted the false statement and revised the article to include Netanyahu’s denial.
The last time Trump spoke with Netanyahu was during the prime minister’s July visit to his Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago estate. Last week, in a New Jersey press conference, Trump repeated the information he had given to Netanyahu regarding Israel’s conflict in Gaza during their last meeting.
Woodruff had also been criticized earlier on Wednesday by Representative Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) for voicing the false narrative.
“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,” Waltz said. “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.”
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