President Donald Trump mocked MSNBC’s decision to rebrand this week, calling the move a desperate attempt to escape its reputation for “fake news,” as reported [1] by Newsmax.
“MSNBC is doing so poorly in the ratings that they are looking to change their name in order to get away from the stench of their fake news product,” Trump wrote in an all-caps Truth Social post on Thursday.
“So much fun to watch their weak and ineffective owner, ‘Concast,’ headed by dopey Brian Roberts, hopelessly and aimlessly flailing in the wind in an attempt to disassociate itself from the garbage that they created! MSNBC is a failure by any name!!!”
BREAKING 🚨 President Trump just put the nail in the coffin for MSNBC at 12:22 AM. Nobody is safe
Trump is freaking on it tonight 🔥 pic.twitter.com/LVh1XSfJY4 [2]
— MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) August 21, 2025 [3]
The network announced its rebranding in what executives described as the most dramatic identity shift in its nearly 30-year history. Later this year, MSNBC will drop both the NBC name and its Peacock logo, relaunching as MS NOW — shorthand for My Source News Opinion World.
The decision comes as Comcast plans to spin off its cable holdings into a new entity called Versant, led by CEO Mark Lazarus. Company officials said the move will help separate NBC News’ straight-news division from MS NOW’s opinion-driven programming.
The rebrand has sparked backlash internally. Progressive staffers and longtime viewers expressed frustration online and in internal forums, with some calling the change a “demotion” that strips MSNBC of the prestige tied to the NBC brand.
JUST IN: Following scandals, financial strain, mass layoffs, a credibility collapse, and plummeting ratings, MSNBC is rebranding itself as MS NOW.
President Trump completely destroyed them. They will never recover. pic.twitter.com/0jv0kt6sNy [4]
— Bad Hombre (@joma_gc) August 18, 2025 [5]
One employee remarked:
“MS is the new BS.”
Conservatives have responded with ridicule, creating nicknames such as “Most Surely No One Watching” and “Majorly Skewed News Overly Woke.”
The ratings illustrate the network’s challenges. In the first quarter of 2025, MSNBC averaged 593,000 viewers across the day and just 57,000 in the 25–54 advertising demographic. Apart from Rachel Maddow’s primetime program, few MSNBC shows rank among cable news leaders.
Some media analysts have suggested the change could weaken the brand further, particularly as cord-cutting and digital platforms continue to shrink television audiences. Still, executives insist the move will help the network set a new course.
“This gives us the opportunity to chart our own path forward, create distinct brand identities and establish an independent news organization,” Lazarus wrote in a memo to staff, according to The New York Times.
