MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace found herself at the center of President Donald Trump’s latest media storm after delivering a scathing critique of his Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The confrontation escalated when Trump launched a Sunday morning, August 17, assault on Truth Social, predicting Wallace’s imminent firing and calling her a “loser.”
The conflict began after Wallace’s Friday commentary on Trump’s meeting with Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. Wallace criticized the president’s diplomatic approach, stating that Trump “doesn’t give a s*** about democracy.” She also remarked on the physical interaction between the two leaders, noting the extensive handshakes and touching during their photo opportunities.
Trump’s response came through a series of Truth Social posts, where he targeted Wallace directly. “She is a loser, with bad ratings, who was already thrown off of The View. She will be fired soon! MSNBC IS DEAD!” Trump wrote on Sunday morning. The president’s supporters amplified the attack in the comments, with some calling Wallace “Typhoid Mary Nicole Wallace” and labeling her show “clown news.”
Wallace, who hosts “Deadline: White House” on MSNBC, used her Monday, August 18 program to address Trump’s criticism while highlighting what she called his fundamental disconnect from reality. Speaking about the president’s reaction to coverage of the Putin meeting, Wallace declared that Trump “is furious at anyone that covers the truth about this story and any others.” Referencing Trump’s social media meltdown, she added, “I witnessed that firsthand myself.”
The MSNBC host focused much of her Monday broadcast on fact-checking Trump’s latest claims about mail-in voting. During an Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump had falsely claimed that the United States was “the only Country in the World that uses Mail-In Voting” and promised to sign an executive order ending the practice.
Wallace systematically dismantled these assertions during her show. After playing a clip of Trump’s comments, she told viewers, “We’re going to just cut it right there, because all of that is completely false.” She explained that many countries use mail-in voting, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and Switzerland.
The television host also pointed out the irony in Trump’s position, noting that the president himself has voted by mail in previous elections, according to reports from The New York Times. Wallace emphasized that Trump had provided “zero evidence” to support his claims of widespread voter fraud in American elections.
Beyond debunking Trump’s factual claims, Wallace highlighted a constitutional issue with the president’s proposed solution. She explained that Trump lacks the authority to end mail-in voting through executive order, as the Constitution grants states the power to set the “times, places and manner” of elections, with only Congress having the ability to override state voting laws.
Wallace characterized Trump’s mail-in voting rant as an attempt to address what she called one of his “longest-standing and most dangerous, unfounded delusions” – his continued claim that he did not lose the 2020 presidential election. She criticized the president for focusing on these issues during what she described as “high-stakes diplomacy” with foreign leaders.
The Trump-Putin summit that sparked this media conflict took place on Friday, August 15, in Alaska, but ended without a concrete agreement on ending the war in Ukraine. Trump and Putin met for nearly three hours, with the president later describing the talks as making “great progress” while acknowledging that “there’s no deal until there’s a deal.”
Trump’s attack on Wallace also referenced her 2015 departure from ABC’s “The View,” where she served as a co-host for one season. Wallace has previously described her firing from the daytime talk show as feeling “personal,” explaining that she learned about her dismissal through a Variety report rather than directly from the network. During her final episode, Wallace reflected on her unexpected opportunity, saying she was “more surprised to get it than I would have been to not get it.”
The current confrontation highlights the ongoing tension between Trump and MSNBC, which the president frequently refers to as “MSDNC” in reference to the Democratic National Committee. This latest attack comes as the network faces corporate changes, with reports indicating MSNBC will be rebranded as part of Comcast’s spinoff from NBC Universal.
Despite Trump’s predictions about Wallace’s job security, her show “Deadline: White House” remains a strong performer within MSNBC’s lineup. The program consistently outperforms CNN in ratings while capturing roughly half of Fox News’ audience, according to industry reports.
Wallace, a former communications director for President George W. Bush, joined MSNBC in 2016 as a contributor before landing her own show a year later. Her background in Republican politics has given her a unique perspective in covering Trump’s administration, though she has become one of the president’s most vocal media critics.
The exchange reflects broader tensions about press freedom and presidential criticism of media figures. Trump’s history of targeting journalists through social media has raised concerns among media advocates about the potential chilling effect on press coverage.
