Trump Derangement Syndrome—TDS—has always provoked red-faced, spittle-flinging attacks not only on Donald Trump, but on his sons and every other member of his family and their associates, personal and political. Despite more than a decade of attempts to find Trump wrongdoing and lawfare attempts to imprison Trump, most of which have failed and the rest are in the process of being overturned, sane, non-TDS-afflicted Americans can come to only one conclusion: he’s probably the most honest real estate developer in history. That’s especially true since he made much of his fortune in New York City, which isn’t known for playing business softball, but for corruption.
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It seems ABC News didn’t get the memo or is so debilitated by terminal TDS that it wouldn’t have mattered. ABC published a story alleging corruption by Trump’s sons, Don Jr. and Eric, but it was so full of legally actionable errors that they disappeared it within 24 hours without explanation or apology. Now, they’ve put up a corrected story with this vague explanation:
“Editor’s Note: CORRECTION: A version of this story published on Oct. 7 contained errors in the description of certain company investments, government contracts and event chronologies,” the statement read. “After subsequent reporting, this version contains corrected information and additional context regarding some of those investments, contracts and events.”
Fox News, which didn’t drink the Kool-Aid, reports:
The original report, which remains accessible through the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, was published Wednesday afternoon under the headline, “Trump sons’ investments have won billions in Pentagon contracts since his election.” ABC News removed the report less than 24 hours later without a public explanation at the time.
However, the revised report reappeared on ABC News’ website Friday with an editor’s note, factual corrections and a new headline: “New shipyard announced amid earlier Democratic concerns about potential conflicts of interest.”
Billionaire businessman Bill Ackman wasn’t impressed:
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There’s an old saying, and it’s something I always told my writing students: write what you know, or plan to do a lot of research. ABC apparently hasn’t heard that one:
ABC News’ decision to remove the report without an immediate public explanation drew criticism from media industry figures.
ABC News’ revisions followed public criticism from 1789 Capital spokesperson Alexa Henning, who disputed the original report’s description of the firm’s investments. Henning said “1789 Capital does not have a ‘major stake’ in Anduril” and challenged the article’s characterization of the Trump brothers’ involvement in other companies.
“Here’s a small lesson, that I also explained to ABC, the ‘reporter’ who is a complete idiot conflated raising funds with investment by 1789. Those are two separate actions,” Henning wrote.
1789 Capital is the venture firm in which Trump Jr. serves as a partner.
Gavin Newsom, always ready to put both feet in his always-flapping, you know he’s lying because his lips are moving, mouth, did it again, and Don Jr. let him have it:
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Graphic: X Post
Cynical Publius also noted what was obvious to the non-TDS-afflicted:
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How bad was ABC’s utter lack of financial knowledge, their refusal to do due diligence? This bad:
The initial report incorrectly attributed a $2.5 billion investment in Anduril to 1789 Capital. The revised article clarified that the figure represented the total funding Anduril raised last year.
“1789 Capital — a venture capital firm that lists Donald Trump Jr. as one of six partners along with three founders — claimed a major stake in Anduril in June 2025 from a $2.5 billion investment into the company,” ABC News reported in the deleted story.
The revised article also states that Trump Jr. does not sit on the three-person committee responsible for investment decisions, according to a spokesperson for 1789 Capital.
The updated story states that 1789 Capital previously invested $50 million in defense contractor Anduril, which ABC valued at approximately $60 billion.
In other words, they got just about everything wrong, except Don Jr.’s and Eric’s names, including “the” and “and.” Don Jr. doesn’t make 1789 Capital’s investment decisions.
Evidently, ABC and its lawyers think their insincere, belated correction, without apology, will immunize them. Sane Americans are surely hoping the Trump family’s lawyers are busy drafting lawsuits. It couldn’t happen to a worse bunch of blatant Democrat propagandists. If there is a more recklessly malicious disregard for the truth, it doesn’t come to mind.
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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, lifelong athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer, and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
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