David Muir was absent during a recent broadcast of ABC World News Tonight. Since then, fans have been wondering what’s going on behind the scenes. At the time, however, one announcement also caused an uproar among viewers.
David Muir Has Been Absent From A Few Episodes Of ABC World News Tonight As Of Late
Muir is known to many for his work as an anchor for ABC World News Tonight. Joining the show in 2007, he succeeded Diane Sawyer as anchor in 2014.
Beforehand, Muir served as a weekend anchor and substitute anchor for the newscast. In addition, he is also known for his work with 20/20, having started work with the program in 2013.
However, Muir had been absent during a few recent episodes. This was the case for an episode airing on December 21, 2025. Instead, Rachel Scott filled in during the recent broadcast.
During the episode, Scott discussed “the showdown in the Caribbean Sea.” As she shared, “The US Coast Guard is pursuing a third tanker off the Venezuelan coast. It’s the third in the last 10 days. Tonight, Venezuela is pushing back, calling the seizures, quote ‘theft and hijacking.’”
The show then cut to ABC senior White House correspondent Selina Wang. She shared, “Tonight, rising tensions with Venezuela as the US is in active pursuit of a sanctioned Dark Fleet vessel fleeing the Caribbean. A US official tells ABC News, the Coast Guard is attempting to intercept a vessel that’s part of Venezuela’s quote, ‘illegal sanctions evasion.’ The official says the ship is quote, ‘flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order.’”
Wang noted that this followed Saturday’s seizure of an oil tanker off the Venezuelan cost by a Coast Guard tactical team. As she noted, “Tonight, Venezuela firing back, calling the seizures theft and hijacking.”
Wang continued, noting that President Donald Trump threatened “a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil takers traveling to and from Venezuela.” This move served as a threat to the Venezuelan economy.
Wang continued, “The Pentagon also striking 28 alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing at least 100 people without providing any public evidence or identifying those killed. The administration insisting its pressure campaign is about targeting drug traffickers and sanctioned oil but some Republicans openly calling for regime change.”
Some On Social Media Praised The Broadcast For Its Coverage Of The Story
“President Trump has been warning for weeks now that land strikes targeting drug traffickers inside Venezuela could be coming soon, saying this week that he’s not ruling out war. So lawmakers are now pressing the administration for clarity, asking what the real endgame is here. Is it about oil, drugs, or regime change?”
The segment was also shared on the show’s social media. On Instagram, it was shared that the U.S. Coast Guard is “in active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion.”
Many commenters shared their reactions to the story on social media. Some reacted to the story, with one writing, “Why are they allowing this to continue… they are not in US waters,” while another wrote, “I voted for this.”
Other comments praised the newscast for its coverage. As one fan chimed in, “Fascinating and concerning development.”
As noted by The Mirror U.S., Muir was off from the December 21 episode as it was part of the weekend broadcast, where he was off on his routine weekend break. Notably, Scott was actually filling in for Linsey Davis, who normally hosts the Sunday edition of the show.
However, as previously reported, Muir was also absent for the following night’s Monday broadcast. At the time, Whit Johnson had filled in for Muir. During the broadcast, an explanation for Muir’s absence wasn’t immediately given. As it was the start of 2025’s Christmas week, there was some speculation online that Muir has been taking time off for the holidays.
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John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.