Donald Trump Says Declaration of Independence Is About ‘Love and Respect’ — Watch Reporter’s Viral Reaction

Another moment from the president’s interview with ABC News’ Terry Moran has gone viral

By 

Meredith Kile

Meredith Kile

Meredith Kile is a Digital News Writer-Editor at PEOPLE. She has been an entertainment and political journalist for more than a decade, previously working for Entertainment Tonight, VICE and Al Jazeera America.

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Published on May 2, 2025 05:19PM EDT

Terry Moran and President Donald Trump.Credit : 

ABC News/YouTube

• President Donald Trump spoke with ABC News’ Terry Moran in a viral interview on Sunday, April 29
• During the sitdown about Trump’s first 100 days in office, Moran asked the president about his decision to hang a copy of the Declaration of Independence in the Oval Office
• Trump called the historic document “a declaration of unity and love and respect,” prompting a reaction from the reporter

Another moment from President Donald Trump‘s intense interview with Terry Moran has gone viral.

The president sat down with the ABC News correspondent this week to discuss his first 100 days in office. Moran pressed Trump on everything from the economy to his relationship with Vladimir Putin, but it was a detail of the Oval Office decor that got one of the reporter’s biggest reactions.

Upon taking office in January, Trump did the customary redecorating. Notably, he replaced a portrait of President Barack Obama with a painting of himself following his July 2024 assassination attempt. He also hung a framed copy of the Declaration of Independence in the Oval Office, complete with blue curtains on both sides.

When Moran asked Trump what the document meant to him, the president replied, “Well, it means exactly what it says, it’s a declaration. A declaration of unity and love and respect, and it means a lot. And it’s something very special to our country.”

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Moran’s brief reaction to the president’s reply is just the latest moment to go viral from the interview. Earlier this week, a clip circulated of the president insisting that an edited image of Kilmar Abrego Garcia was the real thing.

When Moran asked Trump about Abrego Garcia — who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March — the president referenced a photo of the Maryland father’s tattoos. Abrego Garcia’s left hand features four tattoos on his knuckles: a marijuana leaf, a smiley face, a cross and a skull.

In a photo that Trump previously shared to his own social media pages, graphics were added to explain that the symbols were perceived by the White House as code for “MS-13,” the violent international gang.

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The Trump administration has previously claimed that Abrego Garcia was a member of the gang, though he has no criminal record.

During the ABC interview, Trump suggested that the characters “M,” “S,” “1,” and “3” were part of Abrego Garcia’s real tattoo, and not typed onto the image after the fact to explain the alleged gang reference.

“He said he wasn’t a member of a gang, and then they looked and on his knuckles he had MS-13,” Trump told Moran, who replied there was “dispute” over the meaning of the symbols tattooed on Abrego Garcia.

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“He had some tattoos that are interpreted that way, but let’s move on,” the anchor said. But the president was insistent.

“Wait a minute. Hey, Terry. Terry. Terry. Don’t do that,” Trump replied. 

“He did not have the letter ‘MS-13,’ ” Moran reiterated. “That was Photoshopped.”

“That was Photoshopped?” Trump replied in disbelief. “Terry, you can’t do that. They’ve given you the big break of a lifetime. You know, you’re doing the interview.”

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Moran, who served as ABC News’ chief White House correspondent from 1999 to 2005, is currently the network’s senior national correspondent.

Trump’s next “100 Days” interview is with NBC News’ Kristen Welker on the Sunday, May 4 episode of Meet the Press.