Skip to main content
Tags: jonathan karl | white house | resistance | journalist | abc

ABC's Jonathan Karl: 'I'm Not Part of the Resistance'

karl wears a suit striped tie and gray mask in the press briefing room
Reporters, including ABC News' Jonathan Karl, center, wear face masks during a news conference at the White House on May 8, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

By    |   Friday, 25 September 2020 11:15 AM EDT

Jonathan Karl, the chief Washington correspondent for ABC News, said in a new interview that he is "not part of the resistance" to President Donald Trump despite asking him tough questions.

Karl was on Mediaite's "The Interview" podcast and was asked about his recent question to Trump in which he said: "Why did you lie to the American people? And why should we trust what you have to say now?"

The question was in response to audio recordings in which Trump said he downplayed the COVID-19 threat to America and noted that it's deadlier than the flu, which clash with public statements he's made over the last several months.

"I've resisted using that word" lie, said Karl, the author of "Front Row at the Trump Show."

"I would prefer the readers and viewers of ABC to to make the judgment to you know, I give you the information. You can decide what the intent behind the information was. I will tell you when the president has said something that is not true."

Karl added, "We see him saying something, not only that is factually incorrect, which I had pointed out in real time, but something that we now have evidence on tape that the president was fully aware was incorrect. And in such a matter of such monumental importance. And then there's one other factor that led to the question. And that is the tape that [journalist Bob] Woodward released from March, where the president explains why he lied. He talks about how he didn't want to panic. That's why he downplayed what he knew to be the truth."

Karl, however, said he is merely doing his job as a journalist of asking tough questions when they're warranted.

"I'm not part of the resistance. I'm not his political opponents. I don't want people to see me in there and think I'm just out to get him," Karl said.

"But I also have something that is more important than all of those things. And that is that the reporter's first loyalty must be to pursuing the truth. And part of pursuing the truth is using clarity of language."

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.

Politics
Jonathan Karl, the chief Washington correspondent for ABC News, said in a new interview that he is "not part of the resistance" to President Donald Trump despite asking him tough questions. Karl was on Mediaite's "The Interview" podcast and was asked about his recent...
jonathan karl, white house, resistance, journalist, abc
361
2020-15-25
Friday, 25 September 2020 11:15 AM
Newsmax Media, Inc.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 

Interest-Based Advertising | Do not sell or share my personal information

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© 2025 Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Download the Newsmax App
NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© 2025 Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved