MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace, who’s dealing with intense scrutiny after controversial feedback she made a couple of younger most cancers survivor featured in President Trump’s current handle to Congress, has seen a big drop in viewership because the Nov. 5 election, in response to Nielsen figures.
Wallace, the previous communications official for George W. Bush who gained consideration for her important protection of Trump all through his presidency, noticed her scores endure after Democrats misplaced energy.
From the beginning of 2024 till Election Day, her present averaged 1.6 million viewers, however within the aftermath of Trump’s victory, that quantity plummeted by 35% — falling to simply over a million viewers for the rest of the yr, Nielsen figures present.
The decline was additionally evident in the important thing promoting demographic of adults aged 25-54, the place she noticed a drop from 144,000 viewers earlier than the election to 93,000 after.
Since Jan. 1, the pattern has continued, with “Deadline: White House” averaging 1.1 million viewers — marking a 25% decline in comparison with the identical interval in 2024.
Competing packages on Fox Information, which air in the identical 4 p.m. to six p.m. time slot, have considerably outpaced Wallace’s viewership, drawing a median viewers of three.6 million. Fox Information shares frequent possession with The Submit.
Even in the important thing 25-54 demographic, Wallace has lagged behind, with 108,000 viewers — trailing cable choices like “Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives” on Meals Community and BET’s “Tyler Perry’s Sistas.”
Regardless of the scores decline, there was some excellent news for Comcast-owned MSNBC.
Final month, MSNBC ranked because the No. 2 cable information community in whole viewers throughout prime time and whole day. The community averaged 1.126 million viewers in primetime and 638,000 in whole day viewership, with 111,000 within the primetime demo and 66,000 within the whole day demo.
In comparison with January, MSNBC’s prime time viewers expanded by 53%, whereas its key demo rose by 76%.
The community’s whole day numbers additionally noticed a 26% enhance in viewers and a 47% rise within the demo.
Nevertheless, year-over-year numbers confirmed declines, with prime time whole viewers down 16% and the demo down 9%. Whole day viewership dropped 25% from 2024, with a 21% dip within the demo.
The newest controversy erupted after Trump honored 13-year-old DJ Daniel, a mind most cancers survivor who aspires to be a police officer.
Throughout his speech, Trump made Daniel an honorary Secret Service agent, saying, “Tonight, DJ, we’re going to do you the biggest honor of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service Director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States.”
Following the handle, Wallace’s evaluation on MSNBC took an sudden flip, drawing a connection between the younger boy and the occasions of January 6, 2021.
“I let myself feel joy about DJ, and I hope he’s alive for another, you know, 95 years, and I hope he lives the life he wants to live. He wants to be a cop. He knows what he wants to do, and maybe when you have childhood cancer, that crystallizes for you,” she stated earlier than pivoting to a darker tone.
“I hope he has a long life as a law enforcement officer,” Wallace continued.
“But I hope he never has to defend the United States Capitol against Donald Trump’s supporters, and if he does, I hope he isn’t one of the six who loses his life to suicide, and I hope he isn’t one who has to testify against the people who carried out acts of seditious conspiracy and then lived to see Donald Trump pardon those people.”
Wallace’s MSNBC colleague, prime time host Rachel Maddow, additionally raised eyebrows along with her commentary.
Maddow made an uncommon accusation towards Trump, calling him “disgusting” for highlighting DJ’s brave combat towards a life-threatening sickness that docs initially predicted would declare his life inside months.
“For the record – and this is disgusting – the president made a spectacle out of praising a young man who’s thus far survived pediatric cancer – as if the president had something to do with that,” the liberal host fumed.
The feedback from Maddow and Wallace sparked instant backlash, with criticism pouring in from media retailers and social media customers alike.
The White Home additionally weighed in, with Trump himself condemning the remarks.
“Frankly, what Nicolle Wallace said — I’ve never been a fan of hers, and she’s not very talented, but I will tell you what she said the other day about the young man is disgraceful. She should be forced to resign,” Trump stated on Thursday.
White Home Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed the sentiment throughout Wednesday’s press briefing, additional fueling the controversy.
Leavitt described Wallace’s remarks as “disgusting,” accusing her of inappropriately involving a younger boy battling mind most cancers in a political assault associated to the occasions of Jan. 6, 2021.
Concerning Maddow, Leavitt echoed Trump’s sentiment that her feedback had been “disgraceful,” suggesting that each hosts ought to resign over their statements about DJ Daniel.
The Submit has sought remark from MSNBC.
