Former President Donald Trump harshly criticized veteran journalist Terry Moran during a recent interview, accusing him of “not being very nice” after being corrected over a photograph he claimed was authentic.
During the sit-down with ABC News’ former Nightline co-anchor, the 78-year-old Republican insisted that an image—reportedly showing the tattooed knuckles of deported father Kilmar Armando Ábrego García with the letters “MS13″—was real, despite being informed it had been heavily photoshopped.
García, a Maryland resident, was one of 250 individuals recently deported to the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT), widely described as the “world’s worst prison.” The Trump administration later acknowledged the deportation was due to an “administrative error,” admitting García had been mistakenly sent to the Central American facility.
On Truth Social, Donald Trump posted an image of himself holding what he claimed was a photo of García’s hand, suggesting it showed a tattoo of “MS-13” across his knuckles. However, the image appeared doctored — the alleged tattoo looked more like a Photoshop addition than a real marking.
In contrast, a photo of García shared by El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele showed no such tattoo or ink on his hand.
During a tense interview, Trump addressed García’s deportation.
“When we have criminals, murderers, in this country, we have to get them out — and we’re doing it,” Trump said. “You picked out one man, but even that man — he said he wasn’t in a gang, then they looked and saw MS-13 on his knuckles.”
Journalist Terry Moran pushed back: “There’s a dispute with that.”
Unfazed, Trump insisted, “Wait a minute. He had MS-13 tattooed on his knuckles.”
Moran clarified, “He had some tattoos that were interpreted that way — but let’s move on.”
“Wait a minute. Hey Terry, Terry, Terry. Don’t do that. It says MS-13,” Trump interrupted.
When Moran pointed out that the image appeared photoshopped, Trump responded, “That was photoshopped? Terry, you can’t do that. They’re giving you the big break of a lifetime. You know, you’re doing the interview — I picked you because, frankly, I never heard of you, but that’s okay. I picked you.”
Laughing, Moran replied, “I knew this would come.”
President Nayib Bukele shared a picture of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia on his Twitter which appears to show he does not have ‘M S 1 3’ tattooed on the knuckles (X/@nayibbukele)
“Terry… but you’re not being very nice. He had MS-13 tattooed. Terry, Terry do you want me to show you the picture?” asked the president.
“I saw the picture,” replied Moran.
Trump questioned him: “And you think it was photoshopped? Don’t Photoshop it, go look at his hand.
“No, no, Terry, Terry. No, no he had MS as clear as you can be, not interpreted. This is why people no longer believe the news because it is fake news.
“Terry, he has MS-13 on his knuckles. Okay? You do such a disservice, why don’t you just say ‘yes he does’ and go onto something else.”
