Politics
Nicolle Wallace’s Ratings Plunge To New Lows Amid DJ Daniel Controversy
MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace is still in hot water two days after wishing 13-year-old DJ Daniel a “long life” as a police officer while hoping he never has to prevent a J6-style insurrection. The controversy has brought renewed scrutiny to her ratings, which remain at rock bottom since President Donald Trump’s victory last November.
Wallace, who hosts “Deadline” on weekdays between 4 and 6 p.m. EST, was sharply criticized by Trump and his allies after giving Daniel, the president’s guest at his congressional address on Tuesday, a backhanded compliment that also served as a veiled shot at Trump. The young man is in his seventh year of battling brain cancer and was made an honorary U.S. Secret Service agent by Trump during his speech.
“I hope he has a long life as a law enforcement officer. But I hope he never has to defend the U.S. Capitol against Donald Trump’s supporters. And if he does, I hope he isn’t one of the six who loses his life to suicide. And I hope he isn’t one who has to testify against the ones who carried out acts of seditious conspiracy and lived to see Donald Trump pardon those people,” Wallace told Rachel Maddow on Tuesday night following the president’s remarks.
The attention her comments received appears to be the most she has gotten in months.
Wallace’s program, “Deadline: White House,” garnered an average of 1.6 million viewers from the start of 2024 to Election Day but then saw a 35% decline after President Trump won. The show saw about one million viewers per day for most of November and December as more members of its liberal audience tuned out, a sea change felt by the embattled network’s entire roster.
Critical elements of the “Deadline” audience may never come back, Fox News reports: among viewers 25-54, Wallace’s audience is down to 93,000 per day compared to 144,000 before Election Day. That figure signals to advertisers that Wallace is no longer a hot commodity among consumers.
Since the start of 2025, Wallace’s nightly viewership has ticked up slightly to 1.1 million but still represents a 25% decline compared to this time last year. By comparison, Fox News’ programming in the 4-6 p.m. time slot averages 3.6 million, more than triple Wallace’s audience.
Embarrassingly, Wallace trails non-news programs in the key demo, including “Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives” on the Food Network and BET’s “Tyler Perry’s Sistas.”
President Trump fueled the debate about Wallace’s latest remarks by condemning her for using a sick child to take a shot at him.
“Frankly, what Nicolle Wallace said- I’ve never been a fan of hers, and she’s not very talented, but I will tell you what she said the other day about the young man is disgraceful. She should be forced to resign,” Trump said on Thursday.
At a White House briefing on Wednesday, Leavitt referred to Democrats as the “party of insanity and hate” after members of Congress refused to stand and cheer for Daniel. She singled out Wallace for denigrating the heartwarming moment.
“Last night, MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace disgustingly looped in a 13-year-old boy with brain cancer into an attack on the president over January 6,” she said. “It’s sad and frankly pathetic that Democrats and liberals in the legacy media continue to allow their hatred for the president to override their love for our country.”
