MSNBC’s Meltdown: Ratings Crash and the Delusion of Fighting Fascism

In a media landscape defined by polarization, few networks have embraced a partisan identity as strongly as MSNBC. But that identity may now be costing them viewers—and credibility. A string of recent developments, including plummeting ratings, awkward on-air narratives, and the growing irrelevance of their marquee names, suggests that MSNBC is in the middle of a full-blown crisis.

The Elon Musk Spin

One of the most telling examples of MSNBC’s increasingly bizarre framing came after Elon Musk ended his temporary role as a Special Government Employee. His departure was described by MSNBC contributors as a “defeat by democracy,” a poetic flourish that bore little resemblance to reality. Musk’s 130-day term ended as scheduled. He wasn’t “chased out” of Washington by protestors or lawsuits, as MSNBC’s Adnan Giridharadas melodramatically claimed. In fact, Musk—a key figure in Democratic get-out-the-vote campaigns—was anything but an enemy of the establishment.

The Rachel Maddow–Nicole Wallace Echo Chamber

The absurdity continued with MSNBC host Nicole Wallace launching a new podcast titled The Best People. Her first guest? Longtime MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow. The two engaged in an emotional exchange that teetered between satire and self-parody. “Born to dillydally, forced to fight fascists,” Wallace quipped, quoting a meme. Maddow followed with apocalyptic metaphors about the “edge of the cliff” and surviving a “fascist takeover.”

While the duo painted themselves as heroic truth-tellers holding the line against tyranny, viewers were tuning out. Wallace’s podcast, despite its emotional self-importance, feels more like a coping mechanism than meaningful journalism.

Prime Time Catastrophe

Behind the scenes, MSNBC’s numbers are tanking. Since Rachel Maddow reduced her schedule to just one day a week, MSNBC has scrambled to fill the 9 PM slot. Enter Jen Psaki, former Biden press secretary and MSNBC’s highly promoted recruit. The result? A complete failure.

In May, MSNBC’s prime-time ratings dropped 41% in the key 25–54 demographic and 34% in total viewership compared to the same time last year. Psaki’s show averaged 973,000 total viewers, a 46% drop from the numbers Maddow used to pull in that slot. Even more shocking, MSNBC’s total daytime demo viewership sunk to just 49,000—a figure so low that Nielsen reports it with dashes, a dreaded signal in the cable news world that a show’s performance is statistically insignificant.

To put this into perspective, when America’s Newsroom launched on Fox News in 2007, it regularly pulled in 1.3 million viewers and over 300,000 in the demo—at 9:00 AM. Psaki can’t even match that at 9:00 PM.

CNN’s Collapse

MSNBC isn’t the only one struggling. Over at CNN, Jake Tapper is on a whirlwind book tour promoting his latest release. Despite appearances on nearly every liberal talk show, Tapper’s program just had its lowest-rated month since 2015. His May average? Just 525,000 total viewers, with a paltry 95,000 in the demo.

Compare that to Fox News, which pulls in 3.3 million viewers in the same time slot. MSNBC was managing 1 million before this recent crash. Tapper’s performance signals a broader trend: liberal cable news is no longer the cultural force it was during the Trump presidency.

Why Viewers Are Leaving

There’s a reason audiences are walking away. Viewers aren’t just rejecting partisan narratives—they’re rejecting condescension, elitism, and media figures who act like war heroes while doing podcast interviews. From the bungled coverage of COVID to the obsession with Trump-centric lawfare, the credibility of these networks has eroded.

Media figures like Maddow and Wallace still talk as if they’re embedded reporters in a war zone, rather than millionaire pundits lecturing to ever-shrinking audiences. The disconnect between their self-image and the public’s perception has never been greater.

A good example? MSNBC’s Mark McKinnon recently insisted that President Biden is “better than he’s ever been intellectually”—a statement so disconnected from reality it’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry. “He’s far beyond cogent,” McKinnon said, before launching into a rant that ended with “F you if you can’t handle the truth.”

This level of blind loyalty doesn’t just strain credibility—it insults the intelligence of viewers.

The Rise of Independent Media

Meanwhile, progressive YouTubers and podcasters are eating legacy media’s lunch. While they may still trail their conservative counterparts in total reach, they’re increasingly viewed as more authentic. That’s a key word here: authenticity.

MSNBC and CNN are losing because people sense they’re being lied to or at least condescended to. The networks never acknowledged their missteps during Trump 1.0, never owned their errors in COVID coverage, and continue to pretend they’re the last bastion of truth in a crumbling democracy. Viewers want news, not a therapy session.

The Bottom Line

The implosion of MSNBC isn’t just about ratings—it’s about trust. The network that once rallied liberal America has now become a caricature of itself, clinging to outdated narratives and inflated egos. Unless it finds a way to reconnect with its audience—and fast—it risks becoming irrelevant in a media world that prizes honesty and engagement over self-righteous monologues.