5 Times Media Tried To Take Down Trump But Took Themselves Down Instead

Corporate media outlets have taken repeated swings at President Donald Trump, but, more often than not, they’ve ended up hitting themselves.

From canceling their own hosts after anti-Trump rants to amplifying memes they meant to mock while also misreporting economic trends, media outlets have repeatedly tried and failed to take Trump down. Each attempt has only exposed their bias, damaged their credibility and handed Trump yet another win.

1. MSNBC Shakes Up Primetime Lineup After Host Repeatedly Targets Trump

MSNBC has shaken up its primetime lineup in February after a series of controversial moments involving its host targeting President Donald Trump. Joy Reid’s show, “The ReidOut,” which aired at 7 p.m., has been canceled and replaced with a new panel show featuring Symone Sanders-Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez.

The move comes as the network retools its programming, with Alex Wagner’s show also being replaced by Jen Psaki. Reid faced backlash for her frequent attacks on conservatives and white Americans. Her emotional farewell on-air highlighted her belief that her program had “value” on MSNBC. Even after her firing, Reid continued to criticize Trump, insisting that “fascism is already here” in her final broadcast. (RELATED: Rachel Maddow Couldn’t Wait For Trump To Be Declared Winner Before Already Invoking Russia)

“I’m sorry,” Reid said. “That what I was doing had value. And, in the end, I’m sorry, I try not to cry on TV and this is kinda like me on TV, so I apologize … what I will just say is, where I land is that the moment of guilt that I felt that I went hard on so many issues whether it was the Black Lives Matter issues of a young baby or a mom or dad that was killed or when we opened up people’s eyes to the fact that Asian Americans were being targeted, not just black folks, [or when we] went hard for immigrants who did nothing but come to this country like my parents did and try to make a life and defended them. Or whether we talked about what [President Donald Trump] is doing that is subversive to the Constitution, that is injurious to our liberty.”

2. Media Mocks Trump’s ‘Daddy’ Meme, But Ends Up Making It Go Viral Instead

The media’s mockery of Trump’s “Daddy” meme ignited following NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s remark at the NATO summit. Rutte referred to Trump as “Daddy” during a press briefing, saying, “then daddy has to sometimes use strong language,” while discussing Trump’s strategy regarding the Israel-Iran conflict. The comment quickly went viral, sparking widespread media attention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g8HctzQCIo

Late-night hosts Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert quickly seized the moment to satirize the incident. Meyers asked, “Why is anyone calling him daddy?” and mocked the NATO summit as a “softcore Cinemax movie from the ’80s.” Colbert also joined the mockery and used the opportunity to criticize Trump’s political actions.

Rather than distancing itself from the nickname, the White House embraced it and even released a video titled “Daddy’s Home.” The clip, which featured footage of Trump at the summit set to Usher’s song “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home),” further fueled the meme’s popularity.

3. Corporate Media Blamed Trump For Soaring Egg Prices Then Prices Crashed And Made Them Look Foolish 

The corporate media thought they had Trump cornered over the rising cost of eggs, but the prices soon plummeted. Despite the media’s complaints, egg prices dropped by over 61% since Trump took office on Jan. 20, falling from a peak of $8 per dozen in early March.

On Trump’s first full day in office, Jan. 21, the average price of eggs was $6.41, by the end of the week, it had fallen to $2.57, according to Trade Economics. As they tried to shift blame for the price surge onto Trump, media outlets focused on the high cost of eggs, fact-checked his statements on the issue, and doubted his ability to reduce prices.

The Associated Press reported on March 7 that Democrats viewed the rising egg prices as a potential route to political recovery. The article also mentioned that the Department of Agriculture expected egg prices to rise by 41% in 2025, with Democrats blaming Trump for the increase.

In April, both CBS News and CNN accused Trump of lying about the decline in egg prices. CNN specifically criticized Trump for claiming that the wholesale cost of eggs had fallen by 94% since he took office. (RELATED: ‘Last Remnant Of Democratic Resistance’: Charlie Kirk Warns ‘Biggest Fight’ Of Trump’s Presidency Awaits)

As of June 2025, U.S. egg prices had significantly dropped from earlier peaks. The USDA’s Economic Research Service reported that the average retail price for eggs in April 2025 was $5.12 per dozen, down more than $1 from the March peak of $6.23 per dozen.

4. MSNBC’s Ratings Significantly Dropped Following Trump’s Presidential Win

MSNBC endured a tough period with a 53% drop in ratings since Trump’s victory over former Vice President Kamala Harris. The network’s struggles worsened by an announcement from top hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, who revealed a meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, which angered many loyal viewers.

In addition, Comcast announced plans to spin off MSNBC and CNBC, which further signal the declining value of both channels. At the moment, MSNBC is still experiencing ratings struggles, with viewership continuing to lag despite efforts to retool its programming after the departure of Reid in Feb. 2025. (RELATED: MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace Rants About How ‘Gutted’ She Felt After Trump Deported Alleged Gang Members)

The network’s ratings have dropped by 46% compared to the first 10 months of 2024. The network’s programming changes have yet to generate a significant boost in ratings.

5. Media Reports On Iran Strikes Prove Premature As Officials Clarify Damage Was Too Early To Assess

After the U.S. strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities in Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow, mainstream media outlets claimed that the attacks failed to eliminate the key components of the program and likely only delayed its progress by months. CNN downplayed the success of the bombings in Iran and quoted Jeffrey Lewis, a weapons expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, who claimed the B-2 bombers caused “restricted” damage, as they did not drop “bunker-buster” bombs, calling the attack “an incomplete strike.”

CNN further questioned whether the U.S. had achieved its goal, pointing to the survival of Iran’s Isfahan facility despite the destruction of Fordow. MSNBC echoed these concerns, with General Dan Caine saying that it was “way too early” to make a meaningful assessment of the damage.

Trump criticized CNN and MSNBC for their coverage of the U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and called them “gutless losers.” The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the CIA and even the Iranian government contradicted a CNN report claiming that Trump’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites caused minimal damage. While CNN cited a “low confidence” DIA assessment, multiple agencies and even Iranian sources confirmed that the strikes significantly impacted Iran’s nuclear program.

U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said it would be “almost impossible” for Iran to “resurrect” its nuclear program following the U.S. strikes on its facilities. (RELATED: Joy Reid Suggests Iran Having Nuclear Weapon Might Make Middle East ‘Calmer’)

“It’s not even conceivable,” Witkoff said. “The conversion, destroying of the conversion facility, which not a lot of people are aware of, that stops the enrichment process in the beginning, and it’s needed to finish the enrichment process. Once you get to 90%, you now must metallicize the material, shape it into a round ball, a round metallic ball. That round metallic ball goes into the bomb. Without conversion, you can’t begin enrichment, and you can’t end enrichment in a successful weaponization. That was taken out.”

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