Over the weekend, ABC News president Kim Godwin sent an email to the network’s political unit, various producers, and on-air talent in which she declared that recent comments uttered by President Donald Trump about Black people were “as racist as they come.” Almost instantly, the assessment drew scrutiny from a number of ABC insiders who felt that a newsroom president shouldn’t make statements that could compromise the network’s reputation for impartiality, and complicate its journalists’ efforts to report on the former president’s campaign. “I hope David or George weren’t hoping to get a presidential debate this cycle,” one network insider said, “because that is now impossible.”