World News Tonight anchor David Muir ascended to the top of the Statue of Liberty’s torch for ABC’s “Disney Celebrates America” 24-hour program marking the nation’s 250th anniversary—an ascent made rare by the torch being closed to the public since 1916.
When David Muir reached the top of the Statue of Liberty’s torch, he says the climb stopped feeling like work and started feeling like a message—one he couldn’t fully shake off even after he looked out over New York Harbor.
The “World News Tonight” anchor, 52, was part of ABC’s “Disney Celebrates America,” a 24-hour broadcast planned to commemorate America 250. In an exclusive clip from the network’s coverage, Muir is shown ascending to the torch as part of a special report for the anniversary.
Muir went up with a cameraman to film the exclusive view from the very top of Lady Liberty’s torch, a perch on the statue more than 300 feet above the ground. The torch has been closed to the public since 1916, making Muir’s ascent a rare event.
During an exclusive phone interview, Muir described the final stretch up a narrow 40-foot ladder to the torch and recalled the blunt question he asked a park ranger. “How many people are allowed up here?” he remembers asking. The ranger’s reply was simple: “Nobody.”
He said the ladder itself was the most terrifying part. “Climbing the ladder itself was more terrifying than standing up on the platform. ” he said. adding that the fear was immediate enough to land in his thoughts even as filming continued. When his cameraman asked if he wanted to go up a second time to film from a different angle. Muir said his reaction was instant. “You just hear the audio of me saying, ‘I’m not going back down.’ We’re not doing this twice.”.
Diane Sawyer, 80, broke in during the conversation with a joke as Muir described the moment. “Have you met David Muir?” Sawyer quipped, prompting laughter from Muir and Deborah Roberts, 65. Sawyer then asked: “Do you think he needed a break?”
Muir said the height didn’t just deliver a spectacle—it brought a specific kind of reflection. “Once you’re up there, you are just in complete awe of the beauty of New York Harbor,” he said. “And you immediately think of the people who came into the harbor on those ships and thought. ‘I’m getting a chance at a new life.’”.
ABC’s America 250 programming runs as a full day of content. with the company marking the occasion in conjunction with ABC. ABC News. ESPN and National Geographic. Muir will lead the coverage. including the Statue of Liberty feature on July 3 with Roberts and musical guest Brandi Carlile. and the annual July 4 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island.
The broadcast also includes “7 Wonders of America” on July 4 from 1-3 p.m. ET, with Muir joining other ABC colleagues to spotlight natural wonders and how they shaped history. For that special. Muir traveled to the Grand Canyon and Redwoods National and State Park. while Roberts covered Yellowstone National Park and Sawyer went to the Appalachian Mountains.
Roberts. who co-anchors “20/20” with Muir. described her time in Yellowstone as “a magical experience. ” but said the shoot came with delays and weather. She recalled needing to stop to avoid disrupting the animals: “We have to stop and break for bison as we’re going along.” Despite the disruptions. she said the results were hard to believe. “But that’s what that raw beauty was in this place… It’s hard to believe it was an assignment.”.
Roberts also said people initially doubted Yellowstone’s existence in the way she experienced it. “People didn’t really believe that this thing existed in the very beginning because of how wondrous it is,” she added. “For me, it was just awe-inspiring.”
Sawyer. a longtime anchor who still contributes to ABC News after handing over the “World News Tonight” reins to Muir in 2014. called the Appalachian Mountains an “endless state of surprise.” She said the range spans 13 U.S. states and stretches into Canada. and has been dubbed a “biodiversity highway. ” due to its animals. plants. cuisine. and preservation of original bluegrass and folk songs native to the region.
She tied the landscape to a larger national story, saying settlers likely saw a clear path westward. “It was an interesting tapestry of America and how it formed us and formed our idea of who we are in a way. ” Sawyer said. adding that settlers likely told themselves. “If we make it across these mountains. then nothing stops us all the way to the Pacific.”.
Sawyer described another part of the job as she put it: “I think one of the great joys [of this job] is when you can bring people something that doesn’t need words.”
Muir himself described one unexpected advantage of the travel—being unreachable for stretches. “First of all, our phones did not work, which was the real gift,” he joked about his time in Redwoods. He said one moment stayed with him as a reminder of scale: looking up at a tree in front of him and assessing its age. they realized the trees around them were older than the Declaration of Independence and older than the country itself.
The steward of Save the Redwoods was standing with him when Muir heard a final line of perspective. “And you know what? They’ll be here hundreds of years after us,” Muir recalled the steward saying.
As part of the broader day of programming, “GMA’s 50 States in 50 Weeks” airs on July 4 at 1:07 a.m. ET, and Nashville’s Star-Spangled Bash airs at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT, hosted by Ryan Seacrest. Muir will also helm “Dawn in America” on July 4 at 5 a.m. ET, tracing American history through documents including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
In his reporting, Muir said he saw the original, first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution in Philadelphia. He described noticing “freedom of the press” written in the margin of the Constitution—what he said later became part of the Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791.
During the conversation, Muir connected the phrase directly to the founding era’s intentions. “It was on [the founding fathers’] minds when they were envisioning the future of this country,” he said. “To see in the margin that they thought that one of those ways to hold power to account over our 250 years would be freedom of the press. to ask the questions and to be brave. They knew that from the very start.”.
David Muir America 250 Statue of Liberty ABC News Disney Celebrates America World News Tonight Diane Sawyer Deborah Roberts Brandi Carlile Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 7 Wonders of America Grand Canyon Yellowstone Appalachian Mountains Redwoods First Amendment
So they let him climb it but not regular people?? wild.
David Muir really be doing extra like it’s a Disney ride. I saw something about Liberty being “closed since 1916” so I’m like ok… who even decides that. Also ABC really going all out for the anniversary I guess.
Wait, I thought the torch was sealed because of erosion or something, like it’s unsafe. But apparently it’s fine for one anchor to climb?? Doesn’t make sense. I’m not mad or anything, just confused, like if it’s dangerous then why are they sending people up there for TV.
America 250th and they’re doing a whole 24 hour show, okay. Next thing you know they’ll have celebrities up in the torch again like it’s 1916 but with better lighting. I don’t get it, the news guy climbs the torch, then what, message about freedom or whatever. Meanwhile most people can’t even get a decent view of the harbor without paying for parking.