Spin Breakdown: ABC Deletes Its Trump Sons Story, Then Brings It Back Smaller
ABC said Don Jr.’s firm put $2.5 billion into a defense company. The real number was $50 million. When you miss by 98 percent, that’s not a typo. That’s a vibe. · Oct 7–11, 2026
The story: On Wednesday, Oct 7, ABC News published “Trump sons’ investments have won billions in Pentagon contracts since his election.” It said 1789 Capital, the venture firm where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner, “claimed a major stake in Anduril in June 2025 from a $2.5 billion investment into the company.” Anduril says 1789 put in $50 million of that $2.5 billion round and owns about 0.13% of the company. ABC pulled the story on Thursday without explanation and republished a re-reported version Friday evening under a new headline, with an editor’s note admitting “errors in the description of certain company investments, government contracts and event chronologies.” The network told the companies the first version was “published prematurely.” Nobody seems to think that’s what happened, including ABC’s own correction.
Left
The company emailed to say the number was wrong. ABC said it was standing by its story. The next day it deleted the story. That’s not standing by it. That’s leaving the party without saying goodbye. Then it told everyone the piece was “published prematurely,” which is a strange way to describe something that was on the morning editorial call. To be fair, the basic question it asked is legitimate, and the corrected version is solid. It just needed to be the first version.
Center
Semafor: “ABC News offers contradictory explanation for vanishing Anduril story”
Got the actual emails, so instead of guessing what ABC said, it just showed you. Then it said the part nobody else wanted to say: strip out the bad numbers and the basic story is still true. That’s the whole job, and it’s somehow rare. It mixes in some opinion near the end, which we docked a little. At least it’s honest opinion.
Right
Every number is right: $50 million, not $2.5 billion, and the editor’s note quoted in full. Then the headline says “gutted” and “quietly,” and the piece leans on the Trump side’s spokesperson calling the reporter “a complete idiot.” Fox is right about the facts and doesn’t mention that the core story survived. Correct, just not complete.
The facts, checked
- CONFIRMEDABC’s Oct 7 story said 1789 Capital “claimed a major stake in Anduril in June 2025 from a $2.5 billion investment into the company” (Fox, Semafor).
- CONFIRMED1789 Capital put $50 million into that round. ABC’s revised story says so, and Anduril’s spokesperson says 1789 owns “approximately 0.13%” of Anduril (Semafor).
- CONFIRMEDABC removed the story, then republished it with a new headline, an “ABC News” byline and an editor’s note admitting errors (ABC, Fox, Mediaite, Just The News).
- CONFIRMEDABC told Anduril the day it published that its editors “are standing by the language,” then told the companies the story was “published prematurely.” This comes from emails Semafor obtained.
- CONFIRMEDThe Navy’s $6.6 billion Anduril shipyard deal in Maryland is real, and congressional Democrats, including Rep. Raskin, have raised conflict-of-interest questions about 1789 Capital (ABC revised story).
- REPORTEDAnduril didn’t respond to ABC before publication. That comes from an unnamed Anduril source (Semafor).
Our opinion
The right had the facts this round. ABC overstated the money by about 50 times and then explained the deletion in a way its own correction didn’t back up. Fox got every number right but piled on and left out that the basic story held up. Semafor wins on completeness. One point both sides skipped: Trump family money near Pentagon contracts is a fair thing to report on. It just has to be reported correctly. ABC’s second draft shows it can be done, and that’s the encouraging part. Spin Meter: 7/10, Heavy Spin. The Headline Read a Different Article.
Sources
Satire-free zone: the jokes are ours, the facts are not made up. Every claim above is linked to its source. Quotes are copied word for word from the cited reporting. ABC’s deleted Oct 7 wording is quoted as Fox and Semafor reported it. Scores and “Our opinion” are analysis and opinion, not news.
Corrections: spot an error? We’ll fix it and log it under Corrections. Last updated Oct 16, 2026, 7:55 PM CT.
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