PBS correspondent Judy Woodruff issued an apology Wednesday for comments she made on air regarding former President Donald Trump and negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. The retraction came after Woodruff realized she had repeated unverified information during PBS' 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 allegedly encouraged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay peace talks until after the US election. The report suggested Trump believed a deal could benefit Democrat Kamala Harris' campaign.
However, in a post on X on Wednesday, Woodruff acknowledged she had not seen subsequent reporting that contradicted the initial story. "This was a mistake, and I apologize for it," Woodruff wrote on the social media platform.
The experienced 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 initial reports.
