David Muir, who? It appears George Stephanopoulos has a new rival to look out for at ABC.
Stephanopoulos’ political drama with President-elect Donald Trump has followed him into the new year and sources tell us his colleague — and “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” co-host — Jonathan Karl, “wants George gone,” so that he can sweep in and take over the Sunday morning news show.
“He wants the show, and he sees [ABC’s Trump settlement] as an opportunity,” a source told us about Karl’s ambition to move into Stephanopoulos’ spot.
While Stephanopoulos’ name is on the show, he shares hosting duties with Karl and Martha Raddatz.
“In Jon’s mind, he wants George gone, so it’s just him and Martha,” the source added.
Another source quipped, “Martha? Jon wants the show for himself! The bench has been ready to go for years. [The attitude has been] when is [Stephanopoulos] going to step aside, and why are there three hosts for a single show?”
But a spokesperson for ABC denied Karl has designs on Stephanopoulos’ gig, commenting, “It’s not true. They have a friendly and mutually respectful relationship.”
Stephanopoulos main gig at ABC is, of course, at “Good Morning America” — the network’s most lucrative show — which he’s co-anchored since 2009.
Stephanopoulos joined the network in 1997 as an analyst for “This Week,” and hosted the show from 2002 until 2010 — before returning as host a year later. He appears on the show once a month after “working seven days a week for years and years,” according to an insider.
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The anchor had a political career working for Democratic presidential campaigns, including Bill Clinton’s, before becoming a journalist and TV personality.
His political background has made him an asset at ABC, but he took a hit after parent company Disney recently settled Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the network for $16 million.
The settlement caused quite the ruckus at ABC, with journos, including Stephanopoulos, left angry and perplexed over the company’s decision to settle.
During an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) in March, the “This Week” host said that Trump was “liable for rape” while discussing the civil lawsuit won by journalist E. Jean Carroll, which led to the President-elect’s defamation suit.
Multiple sources told us there’s a lot of anger towards Stephanopoulos, “because of the attention [on the settlement]… It makes it hard for everyone to do their jobs.”
Our first source claims, “There are people who want George replaced, and it’s hard for him to do a political show right now…. His greatest strength is politics, but how is he going to cover Donald Trump?”
Meanwhile, Stephanopoulos has found his inner circle shrinking at the network over the past few years, leaving him without many allies.
A source previously described him as a “very guarded person,” and told us, “his circle of trust is so small, and a lot of them don’t work [at ABC anymore].”
We’re told Stephanopoulos and Karl “have a mutual respect for one another,” but it’s become “team Karl versus Stephanopoulos” around ABC according to our first source.
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