David Muir: Tragic Details You Never Knew About The ABC Anchor's Career

David Muir's personal life is full of sad details, but his professional life hasn't been perfect either. The "World News Tonight" host has faced his fair share of professional hardships over the years, which is unfortunate given how much he loves his job. "I feel, in this job, I've had the privilege and responsibility to witness so much history firsthand," Muir shared about his career with USA Today in 2019. "All of it fuels me. I'm grateful to have seen everything I've seen, whether it's the difficult moments or the uplifting moments."

Between his hectic schedule, the general stressors of the job, and the subject matter of some of the hard-hitting stories he churns out night after night, Muir's job is anything but easy — and sometimes it gets to him. While chatting with Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on "Live! With Kelly and Mark" in July 2025, Muir revealed that the recent news cycle had been weighing on him emotionally. "Listen, it's been a really heavy time, and it hasn't let up," shared Muir. "I've joked with you guys, I feel like I need to say, 'Good evening, and I'm sorry. But we'll get through it.'" Unfortunately, this hasn't been the only sad development in Muir's job.

David Muir's transformation from an ABC rookie to one of the most famous faces on the network has been awe-inspiring to many aspiring journalists, but that doesn't mean he never misses the mark. In January 2025, for example, Muir became the internet's number one enemy when, while covering the terrifying California wildfires, viewers noticed that the firefighter's jacket he was wearing had been pinned with clothespins to look more form-fitting. Viewers immediately called out Muir's outfit of choice, accusing him of prioritizing his appearance over the tragedy.

Megyn Kelly, for example, took extra offense to Muir's fashion decision. "The abject vanity of this man," she said on "The Megyn Kelly Show." "This is not dress up time. That's something that my little boys did when they were still in the single digits ... not on the news when people are dying." Continuing her verbal lashing, Kelly added: "Yes, he's an actor who's worried about his own vanity and beauty on camera." 

Despite the backlash, Muir never responded directly to the public's criticism. However, as Us Weekly reported, the next time he appeared on camera in the same jacket to report on the fires, he'd skipped the clothespins, so it's likely the personal critique affected him. Considering Muir's secretly lavish lifestyle, we're sure he'll be just fine.