Donald Trump ripped MSNBC, one of his favorite targets, in a short-but-scathing post on Truth Social on Wednesday. The president said the network — which he calls “MSDNC” because he says it favors Democrats — “shouldn’t even have a right to broadcast — Only in America!”
That dig came after he said the network was “even worse than CNN.” Trump included a news story from Mediate on CNN laying off hundreds of employees with his post.
Of course, MSNBC is not technically a broadcast network but rather a cable news channel. But still, his intention was clear.
This is also not the first time Trump has gone off on MSNBC. Last year, Trump said the network and its parent company, Comcast, were engaged in “illegal political activity” by donating to Democratic candidates. He also called longtime Comcast CEO Brian Roberts a “slimeball” who has “been able to get away with these constant attacks for years.”
Trump’s criticism comes as MSNBC faces a hazy future. In November, Comcast announced it would spin off its cable assets — including MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen, E!, Syfy and Golf Channel — into a standalone, publicly traded company.
Combined, those cable channels generated $7 billion in sales between September 2023 and September 2024. Comcast will retain its Peacock streaming service, Bravo and NBC — which includes its news division.
MSNBC enjoyed a strong Election Night, however, beating CNN in the ratings for the first time ever, but its viewership cratered by 51% in the weeks following the election. The corporate changes, combined with the ratings drop off, had MSNBC talent like “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough questioning their longterm future at the channel.
“I could be completely wrong. We could all be fired a year from now. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Scarborough said in November.
In related news, CNN on Thursday announced several changes to its lineup, including shifting Jake Tapper’s time slot and removing Jim Acosta from his morning show.
