Trump Makes Call for MSNBC to Be Shut Down

As cable news networks adjust to changing trends in viewership and a new Republican government, President Donald Trump has suggested MSNBC should be shut down entirely.
The new president, who was officially sworn in on Monday (January 20), made the statement in a Truth Social post on Wednesday night (January 22), where he was reacting to a Mediaite story about CNN reportedly planning to lay off hundreds of staff amid a restructuring at the network.
Trump, who has been a long-time critic of CNN and MSNBC, took aim at the latter on Wednesday, referring to them as “MSDNC.”
“MSDNC is even worse than CNN,” Trump wrote. “They shouldn’t even have a right to broadcast — Only in America!”
Trump’s post comes at a tumultuous time for MSNBC, which has been the subject of headlines in recent months amid on-air controversies, ratings struggles, and line-up changes.
In November, Comcast confirmed it would spin off most of its cable TV networks into a separate publicly traded company known as SpinCo. This includes MSNBC, CNBC, the USA Network, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and the Golf Channel.
Following the news, the network made several scheduling changes, including Rachel Maddow returning to MSNBC’s 9 pm ET slot for five nights a week for Trump‘s first 100 days in office. Since 2002, Maddow has only hosted at 9 pm on Monday nights.
There were reports last month that MSNBC anchors Joy Reid and Stephanie Ruhle were offered pay cuts to remain at the network. The Ankler newsletter also reported that Jonathan Lemire, who was recently moved to a permanent co-host slot on Morning Joe’s 9 am hour, has been offered a new contract at a reduced salary.
Then, on January 14, MSNBC’s president, Rashida Jones, announced that she was stepping down after four years at the helm of the cable news channel.
Elsewhere, Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski faced criticism from viewers after revealing they traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump following his 2024 presidential election victory.
The morning news program and other MSNBC shows took a ratings dip after Trump’s election win. However, according to Adweek, the network clawed back to the third most-watched basic cable network during primetime in early January.
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