PBS correspondent Judy Woodruff issued an apology on Wednesday for comments she made on-air regarding former President Donald Trump and the indirect negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
The retraction came after Woodruff realized she had repeated unverified information during PBS’s Democratic National Convention coverage on Monday.
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…
— Judy Woodruff (@JudyWoodruff) August 21, 2024
According to the Associated Press, Woodruff had cited a story from Axios and Reuters claiming that Trump encouraged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay ceasefire talks until after the U.S. presidential election in November.
The report suggested that Trump believes a deal could benefit Democratic candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign.
In a post on X, Woodruff acknowledged that she had not seen subsequent reporting contradicting the initial story.
“This was a mistake, and I apologize for it,” Woodruff wrote.
The journalist admitted that her remarks were not based on any original reporting of her own. She explained that she had failed to take into account denials from both the Trump campaign and Israel regarding the accuracy of the reports.
Last week, Netanyahu’s office denied reports of a phone call with Trump. Axios reporter Barak Ravid, citing two U.S. sources briefed on the supposed Trump-Netanyahu call, wrote that the 2024 Republican presidential candidate planned to discuss the proposed Gaza ceasefire and-terrorists-for-hostages agreement with the prime minister.
Originally published by Israel Hayom.
