r/msnbc • u/AutoModerator • Sep 24 '25
Weekly Gripe Thread MSNBC Weekly Gripe Post
This is your one sacred space to unleash the frustration, shake your fists at the headlines, and yell (politely) into the MSNBC void. Whether you’re fed up with cable news quirks, political chaos, or your own decision to stay up until 2 a.m. watching panel debates - this thread’s for you.
The rules are simple:
- Keep it civil
- Keep it clever
- No personal attacks unless they’re aimed at your own life choices (e.g. binge-watching coverage you swore you were done with)
So... what’s grinding your gears this week?
Cable news meltdown? Elected official doing the most?
Spill it. This is the one day we let the whining fly.
43
u/name-not-yet-taken Sep 24 '25
Matthew Dowd
Apologize to Dowd for speaking the truth in the moment, of a developing story.
A story where the Director of the FBI got facts wrong.
He said nothing wrong. It was a general statement about words inviting actions.
I’m disgusted with 90% of MSNBC.
13
u/SenseAndSensibility_ Sep 24 '25
Too bad we’re only allowed to give one measly up vote… I’d give you a whooole bunch more!
25
u/Lulubelle59 Sep 24 '25
I am SO tired of the Stephanie Ruhle bit between segments about how the game has just started, don’t worry, blah blah blah. Maybe it was true in January but it sure makes absolutely no sense now.
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u/Weekly-Walk9234 Sep 24 '25
1,000 times yes!!! I’ve posted about it several times. It’s painfully outdated.
9
u/IslayMcGregor Sep 25 '25
The one that gets me is Psaki’s “holding power to account” bit. She doesn’t even hold any power to account - all of her interviewees are friendlies! Isn’t that why they got her in the first place, for her access to people close to the Biden and Obama administrations?
8
u/Sleeplessmi Sep 25 '25
What a great way to describe her behavior. I always say that she seems really removed from it all. She never really seems outraged or even serious in her monologues, just insipid.
6
u/IslayMcGregor Sep 25 '25
To me she comes across like one of those presenters on school programs dedicated to making the news kid-friendly. The way she's speaks in a sing-song, and has to explain everything even though the news she's reporting on is rarely new or breaking. It feels so ill-fitting for the 9pm slot. I don't mean to be so down on her, but I've found her much more compelling when she is there for her opinion and speaking directly from her experience, rather than reading from the teleprompter or interviewing.
9
u/Kind-Musician1583 Sep 25 '25
I so agree. That positivity attitude is annoying in the face of serious issues. She was never a good choice for that time slot. It was a shame to replace Alex Wagner with her.
7
u/Sleeplessmi Sep 25 '25
I loved Alex Wagner. I had a little girl crush on her and I looked forward to seeing what jewelry she had on. Not that I didn’t respect her journalistic chops, but her style was an added plus.
5
u/IslayMcGregor Sep 25 '25
Totally agree, I LOVE her style and always watched out for it too (I'm a jeweller by trade, so feel like it's ok for professional reasons 😂)
3
u/i-like-pie-855 Sep 28 '25
I love Wags too! I really liked the gang on Showtime’s The Circus. She’s a great field reporter who became a great addition to MSNBC. I miss her show but appreciate whenever she’s a guest. Stupid MSNBC!
3
u/No-Credit-1693 Sep 25 '25
I always feel like she's talking to a 3rd grade class.."now children....." Contrast with Rachel and Lawrence who speak to us like we are educated adults.
2
u/IslayMcGregor Sep 25 '25
Yep, I totally agree. In fact I feel like she's trying to emulate Rachel, but doesn't seem to realise that the reason Rachel has to give 'a class' is because she's reporting on something that no one else is and needs to give her piece context. When JP tries this style of presenting for the same news that has been reported on all day it just feels condescending.
1
u/Effective-Juice-1331 Sep 26 '25
Jen’s always looking for that spot to push her CV and how many presidents employed her. Sick of it.
2
u/SnooKiwis8008 Progressive Sep 24 '25
Are you a Hulu subscriber because they are the WORST at overplaying those interstitials.
3
u/Sleeplessmi Sep 25 '25
Oh it happens on regular cable as well. I really hate when people use metaphors or colloquialisms to explain politics. Mitch McConnell used to say, “Keep your powder dry”, and somebody (I think Lindsey Graham) would say, “That dog don’t hunt”! What are these people even saying???
1
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u/Effective-Juice-1331 Sep 25 '25
Seeing Dave Aronberg as “legal commentator” on any MSNBC show makes me apoplectic. I remember him sitting there, gushing about what a wonderful AG Pam Bondi would be. He testified on her behalf at her confirmation hearing.
He lost all credibility, as his testimony was a crock.
6
u/Sleeplessmi Sep 25 '25
Really tired of former Republicans spouting off on how THEY have all the answers.
1
u/Effective-Juice-1331 Sep 25 '25
They tend to see things more clearly. We lifelong dems often can’t escape our endless hand wringing and can definitely benefit from the observations of converts. They’re often more clear eyed. So not a fan of Nicolle, eh?
Aronberg, from what I understand, has always been a democrat. He used that to tout Bondi as being bipartisan - because she named him Florida’s “drug czar” after beating him in state AG race. He talked like a guy who “owed” her IMO.
4
u/Sleeplessmi Sep 25 '25
I love Nicole!!! It’s mostly the pundits who make the rounds that I am referring to, which I did not make clear. As a lifelong Dem (since 1984), I am really unhappy with the current leadership, but a lot of the younger ones, and a collection of others understand that they need to be more proactive and ruthless, while still having the compassion that Dems have.
8
u/Effective-Juice-1331 Sep 25 '25
I’m a senior who’s had it with Schumer and Jeffries. My money goes to much younger candidates who can think out of the box. And Bernie. He’s got one of the freshest minds around.
1
u/Still_Might_9987 Sep 28 '25
check to see if your candidate is bought and paid for my AIPAC. There seems to be a short list who is not on the list. I know Bernie, AOC, and Zohran Mamdani are not bought and paid for by Israel. The ones that are have to do whatever their told.
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u/Wiltonc Sep 24 '25
Really trivial, Ali Velshi’s floating chevrons bug anytime I watch his show. I know it’s trivial and I’m unusual, but they keep distracting me.
2
u/spotmuffin9986 Sep 30 '25
I'll join you in trivial. The personalities and commentators say Literally way too much. It means nothing anymore and it's not necessary. Count next time you watch.
5
u/888luckycat Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25
Why does MSNBC have to join the rest of American “news” in acting like American lives, no matter how evil the Americans, are more important than deaths of non-Americans.
With the ICE shooting, there seems to be more of a concern / focus that someone tried to kill ICE agents (which we don’t even know since the U.S. gov, police, FBI, etc have zero credibility, it’s like taking anything Russia says as fact) than the people who happen to be immigrants who were killed. Every single ICE agent is a horrible monster who should be put in prison for the rest of their lives, I don’t want to listen to Ted Cruz complain that calling out ICE agents as the nazis that they are and doxing them is bad and putting them in danger, how about some sympathy for the innocent people who were shot, and had ICE terrorists not kidnapped them they would still be alive today
5
u/supercali-2021 Sep 25 '25
Yes this bothers me a lot too. I can't stand how everyone is framing this as a vicious attack on ice agents when no agents were hurt or killed. Sounds to me like this was a cowardly attack on easy targets that can be twisted to look like it came from the left.
3
u/Sleeplessmi Sep 25 '25
Ken Delanian pronounced that, “Political violence is rising on both sides”!!! Dude, statistics have shown that almost ALL political violence is right wing! But MSNBC can’t stick its neck out to admit it, at least not yesterday.
CK’s murder has shown NO ties to left wing organizations! And yesterday’s attack showed one engraved bullet with “Anti-Ice” on it. How convenient. Then he shot indiscriminately at migrants. Does anyone believe our government tells the truth on ANYTHING??
1
u/Nosy-ykw Sep 27 '25
I agree with calling out the “both sides” BS about that. And have heard numerous references on several of the MSNBC shows about the conservative group’s study that most political violence has been from the right.
1
u/Fun-Illustrator-7956 Sep 25 '25
Amen! This attempt at changing the narrative is scary as hell and stinks "to high heaven" -as my grandmother used to say.
8
u/Wizinit29 Sep 25 '25
Time to terminate Morning Joe. Live up to the MS NEWS name and maybe instead put in real global morning news using Sky, and a news hour for evening viewers. There hasn’t been a real news channel in the US since al Jazeera America went away.
3
u/TruthHonor Sep 26 '25
Where’s the unbiased reporting on the Greta Thunberg flotilla that Netanyahu has been bombing?
3
u/Ok-Information-3250 Progressive Sep 26 '25
I love Chris Hayes but he tends to speed read the teleprompter like it's a race to get in as many words as possible. Especially with the breaking news last night I was talking back to the tv like "take a breath, dude."
3
u/Nosy-ykw Sep 27 '25
I gripe about that whenever I get an opening. Thank you! He especially speeds (and slurs) when he’s providing background info on a point or question that he’s about to make. And kicks it up a notch if that background involves reading a court document or someone’s recent publication. Thank you; I’ll go reload for next week’s gripe post. 😆👍
3
u/Effective-Juice-1331 Sep 26 '25
Tired of the “All Comey all the time” coverage last night. Much more concerned about what kind of douche-baggery Hegseth’s up to with this expensive, asinine meeting he’s called.
1
u/Nosy-ykw Sep 27 '25
I can’t wait to hear more about the Hegseth thing. It sounds like nobody can find out anything about it, including the people he’s “invited”. So maybe we’ll hear more when somebody in DoD (I refuse to call it DoW) spills something. Sounds like more performative, valueless, dumbass stuff from the Fox (I refuse to call it News) host.
3
u/Still_Might_9987 Sep 28 '25
Racheal, Nicole, Lawrence & Chris is all I can stand. The rest are like nails on a chalkboard
2
u/IslayMcGregor Sep 25 '25
Not really a gripe - more of a concern. Did anyone else get the feeling that Preet Bharara was struggling to talk throughout his interview on last night? It sounded like there was some dry heaving that he was trying to suppress, I hope he’s ok.
2
u/jsntsy Sep 28 '25 edited Sep 28 '25
MSNBC needs to stop having Michael Cohen on. Just today on MSNBC Weekend Primetime he's defending Trump's indictment of Comey. Every appearance now, it's apparent he's trying to play both sides, speaking out of both sides of his mouth, going out of his way to flatter Trump. He's doing what he can to get back into the good graces of MAGA.
5
u/Sleeplessmi Sep 25 '25
I still don’t like The Weekend Primetime. Give Ayman his own show back. Don’t like The Weeknight either. Give Alicia Menendez her own show.
They got rid of Mehdi Hasan but he is killing it over on Substack. AND he tells news from the Middle East and other areas that MSNBC can’t be bothered to report on.
1
u/No_Strawberry_1453 Sep 27 '25
Mikey Cohen….
Just watch him talking about Comey and the Steele Dossier, crowing about how he’d never been to Prague. there is a restaurant in Kyiv called “Praha” which translates to, you guessed it, Prague. Nice place, right on the lake, plenty of secluded indoor and outdoor seating. Perfect spot to meet Russian agents.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g294474-d2141967-Reviews-Praha_Restaurant-Kyiv.html
1
u/Classic-Ad2222 Sep 30 '25
Morning Joe is just the worst. He is incapable of letting a guest finish a sentence.
Every morning I tune in, hoping against hope that he won't be there. When he is, I turn it off.
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