You’ve got to hand it to Jen Psaki—she gave it the old Beltway try. One day she’s flinging talking points behind the White House podium, the next she’s trying to win hearts and minds from an MSNBC studio. But in the unforgiving world of TV ratings, America has spoken: we’ve heard enough, thanks.
Her show, The Briefing with Jen Psaki, was hyped like it was going to redefine political commentary. Instead, it flopped harder than a Biden bicycle ride. According to The Post Millennial, Psaki’s primetime debut managed to lose nearly half the viewers who used to tune in for Rachel Maddow and Alex Wagner. Just 971,000 tuned in on average from May 6 to May 28, a 47% plunge. Among the coveted 25–54 demographic—the one advertisers actually care about—viewership dropped by 52%.
Yikes.
Apparently, defending Biden’s agenda for two years didn’t exactly build the fanbase she hoped. One insider told the New York Post, “She’s kinda boring. She’s not a great broadcaster.” Not the review you want when you’re aiming to be the liberal Oprah.
But Psaki’s tanking ratings aren’t just her problem—they’re part of a bigger mess at MSNBC. The network had its second-worst May ever, with primetime viewership nosediving by 24% and daytime numbers collapsing 33%. You’d think after years of lecturing Americans about “democracy dying in darkness,” they might wonder why the lights are going out over at Comcast HQ.
Of course, the suits at MSNBC thought doubling down on former D.C. insiders was the solution. Spoiler: it wasn’t.
The Weeknight, their attempt to fill Joy Reid’s shoes (already a tall order in terms of volume, if not substance), features a revolving door of political relics. Symone Sanders, Kamala Harris’s ex-mouthpiece. Alicia Menendez, daughter of disgraced Senator Bob Menendez. And former RNC chair-turned-MSNBC regular Michael Steele. It’s like the Island of Misfit Operatives.
Their grand debut? A drop from Reid’s 955,000 viewers down to 772,000. Apparently, “diverse voices” doesn’t count for much when all they do is repeat the same old elite talking points in different packaging.
Meanwhile, over at Fox News—where common sense still gets air time—viewership surged by 23%, averaging 2.46 million in primetime. While MSNBC execs cry “news fatigue,” the rest of us know the truth: Americans are simply tuning out the scolding and tuning in to sanity.
Let’s be real: Psaki never stood a chance. She hitched her media wagon to the Biden train, and America voted that train off the tracks in 2024. When your biggest resume line is defending high gas prices, open borders, and a president who loses arguments with teleprompters, viewers don’t exactly rush to your new gig.
And now there’s word that Comcast might spin off MSNBC altogether. Can’t imagine why. Maybe people are just over getting their news from the same folks who brought them mask mandates, botched withdrawals, and inflation talking points.
In the end, America’s flipping the channel—and Psaki’s finding out the hard way that spin doesn’t sell.
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