MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell blasted President Donald Trump’s second term on Tuesday night, July 8, 2025, calling it the stupidest presidency in American history and saying the stupidest White House press corps in history is covering it.
O’Donnell made his comments on “The Last Word” after Trump held a Cabinet meeting earlier that day. The longtime TV host has attacked Trump for years and even took time off from his show in March, telling viewers he was exhausted at Day 52 of covering Trump’s presidency.
The MSNBC anchor compared Trump’s situation to writing a TV script. O’Donnell said if he created a stupid president character, that fictional leader would rely on smart staff members and avoid talking to reporters because the press would quickly expose his lack of intelligence.
But O’Donnell said that’s not what’s happening now. He argued that Trump represents the stupidest presidency in American history, but the reporters covering him are equally incompetent, so Trump’s mistakes don’t get properly called out.
O’Donnell pointed to a moment during Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting when CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked Trump who authorized halting military aid to Ukraine without his knowledge. Trump’s response was simple: “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” Then he moved on to another question.
The MSNBC host said previous presidents would never give such a dismissive answer to an important question. O’Donnell claimed Trump has intimidated White House reporters so much that they accept his non-answers without pushing back.
O’Donnell also went after what he called Trump-supporting reporters who have joined the White House press corps. He said these additions have damaged what the press corps is supposed to represent.
His criticism comes as Trump’s team has stepped up attacks on news organizations. The White House has threatened to cut federal money for NPR and PBS, blocked Associated Press reporters from events, and taken control of the media pool that news groups usually manage.
The biggest fight involves the Associated Press, which won’t use Trump’s new name for the Gulf of Mexico. Trump signed an order renaming it the Gulf of America, but AP keeps calling it the Gulf of Mexico in stories while noting Trump’s change.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended blocking AP reporters from events. She said covering the White House is a privilege, and outlets that spread lies will face consequences. Leavitt said it’s a fact that the water off Louisiana’s coast is called the Gulf of America.
The Associated Press sued the government, saying the restrictions violate the First Amendment. AP Executive Editor Julie Pace said the White House is punishing the news organization for its editorial choices, which break constitutional rules.
Trump has also gone after public broadcasting with an order to cut funding for NPR and PBS. The administration says both organizations use taxpayer money to spread radical, left-wing propaganda disguised as news and wants federal agencies to stop all funding.
Congress already approved $535 million for public broadcasting this year, with money set aside through September 2027. The House voted in June to support Trump’s request to eliminate $1.1 billion in public broadcasting funding over two years, but the Senate still needs to vote.
PBS President Paula Kerger called Trump’s order illegal, saying Congress created public broadcasting to be independent from presidential control. NPR CEO Katherine Maher said the funding cuts would violate federal law and the First Amendment.
The administration has taken other steps against news outlets, including kicking eight news organizations out of Pentagon offices and Trump’s lawsuit against CBS News over how they edited a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.
At the same time, the White House has given access to outlets that support Trump, like the Epoch Times and One America News. Officials say this brings in different voices, but critics say it’s designed to reward friendly coverage while punishing critical reporting.
Trump told reporters the Associated Press has been wrong about the 2020 election and unfair to him and Republicans. He said the restrictions will continue until news organizations agree to his demands.
O’Donnell’s attacks on Trump aren’t new. The TV host has spent years criticizing Trump’s intelligence and decisions, sometimes making statements he later had to correct or apologize for.
The White House Correspondents Association called the administration’s actions against the Associated Press wrong, saying the government can’t tell news organizations how to report stories or punish journalists for their editors’ decisions.
Press freedom groups have condemned the administration’s approach. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said punishing journalists for not using government-approved language is an attack on press freedom and violates the Constitution.
The ongoing fights highlight major questions about the relationship between government power and press independence during Trump’s second presidency. O’Donnell’s criticism of both the administration and the reporters covering it shows broader concerns about how political journalism is changing under intense government pressure.
