The proverbial dominos continue to fall for liberal cable news network MSNBC.
Since the President Donald Trump was elected last November, the long-standing network’s ratings have sunk, forcing the network to cut ties with some of its biggest on-air talent.
Now, one of the network’s remaining stars suddenly “quit” on live TV over the weekend.
Did you catch this?
On Saturday, MSNBC’s “The Weekend” panel had an explosive commentary against Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., over his support for the bill that keeps the government open and avoids a shutdown — calling the move a stain and a “black mark” on his leadership.
Host Michael Steele asked his panel, “What are Republicans thinking right now about their ability to absolutely punk Schumer into making this move the way he did, when he knew that that’s not where his party was?”
“I’m about to change my registration to independent, first and foremost,” MSNBC host Symone Sanders Townsend said then told her shocked fellow panelists in anger at how her party “blew it.”
“I’m pissed,” Sanders Townsend said, referring to the contents of the spending bill.
“There’s actually little that the Senate Minority Leader can say, and the 10 Democrats that voted with the Republicans can say, to appease somebody like me. I’m going to change my registration to Independent.”
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“In 2024, Democrats ran on warnings that Trump was going to destroy democracy, and now that he and his team are very much in the process of doing just that, these same politicians are questioning whether or not to stand up to him and his party at one of the first opportunities they have to meaningfully do so,” she fumed.
“The only opportunity, I would add, there’s not another option for Senate or Democratic or Senate Democrats or House Democrats to effectively push back. This was it! They blew it!
Other liberal media talking heads were deeply critical of the move, including former Democratic Congresswoman turned MSNBC analyst Donna Edwards.
“The reality here is there was no message, no strategy, and at the end of the day, no leadership,” she said.
“This is really a black mark on Chuck Schumer. You cannot signal on Wednesday that you want to fight, and then on Thursday, you cave. And so now Republicans know that all they have to do is play Democrats, and it will work.”
The live outburst certainly also highlights the discourse and in-fighting at the network.
In January, MSNBC President Rashida Jones stepped down after four years leading the liberal news network, with move happening on the eve of President Trump’s second administration and after changes in corporate ownership.
Jones, in a memo to staff at the time, said that she is leaving to “pursue new opportunities.”
Jones was replaced Rebecca Kutler, a former CNN executive who joined MSNBC in 2022.
Last month MSNBC canceled popular host Joy Reid’s evening news program “The ReidOut,” as part of a massive shakeup at the network over to a ratings crash following the reelection of President Donald Trump in November.
According to Nielsen Media Research, Reid’s viewership dropped by almost half in December following the November presidential election, with MSNBC experiencing an overall 53% decline in primetime viewership over all during that period.
Staff members reportedly learned about the cancellation from press reports rather than network leadership, leading to what media journalist Oliver Darcy described as a “tense and emotional 30-minute impromptu meeting.”
And last week The Horn News reported that MSNBC’s biggest star – Rachel Maddow – was also experiencing a serious decline in viewership.
According to new data, Maddow has lost roughly 25% of her viewers since President Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election.
According to reports, in total “The Rachel Maddow Show” averaged 2.3 million viewers from the start of 2024 until Election Day but has shed 22% for an average audience of 1.8 million from Trump’s victory through March 7.