CNN, MSNBC could return to resistance TV after being reliable anti-Trump networks during first term

CNN and MSNBC both went full resistance during President-elect Donald Trump’s first stint in the White House, leaving viewers to wonder if history will repeat itself. 

CNN and MSNBC became reliable anti-Trump echo chambers during his first term, as the president regularly mocked CNN as "fake news," Jim Acosta emerged as a household name for hostile coverage of Trump’s presidency and MSNBC pushed the flopped Russia collusion narrative ad nauseam.

Both networks have seen their ratings and relevancy suffer after President Biden took office. With Trump set to return after a decisive Election Day victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, CNN and MSNBC would both have a path to restore their brands by emerging as Resistance 2.0 networks. 

But the American people essentially rejected far-left ideology by re-electing Trump, and the media landscape has changed since he left office in 2020. 

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Jeff Zucker, who pushed CNN from a just-the-facts news operation to an anti-Trump opinion channel, is gone. His first replacement, Chris Licht, wanted to bring CNN back to its nonpartisan roots, but he was shown the door after a brief, uneven stint that alienated staffers and confounded even his own supporters at times. 

Parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has since enlisted former New York Times chief executive Mark Thompson to run CNN, and he undid some of the efforts Licht made to appeal to viewers on both sides of the aisle.

As for MSNBC, the far-left network has been reliably anti-Trump for nearly a decade without any sort of pivot. The biggest change from the first Trump administration is that star anchor Rachel Maddow has since scaled back her workload and only hosts her show on Monday evenings. It's also promoting ex-Biden press secretary Jen Psaki as its next big thing.

CNN’s ratings have plummeted in recent years and MSNBC has seen a mass exodus just since Election Day. Experts have suggested that the strong influence long-form podcasts and new media had on the election might even mark the end of the mainstream media as we know it. 

Partisan MSNBC hosts like Joy Reid have melted down since Trump’s victory, with some personalities pointing fingers at everything from misogyny and racism to White women for why Harris lost. But the approach hasn’t resonated, and MSNBC has seen a staggering 54% drop in primetime viewership since Election Day.

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At CNN, conservative political analyst Scott Jennings became a breakout star in the final weeks of the election as being the "lonely" Trump defender on a panel full of liberals, but the majority of the network’s key programs remain largely hostile.  

Conservative radio host Jason Rantz believes post-election coverage on CNN and MSNBC prove Resistance 2.0 is already occurring, but that doesn’t mean Americans will tune in.

"The resistance is back, led by a left-wing media desperate to deny their role in driving voters to Trump. While a few, like Joe Scarborough, have softened their tone to avoid blame, MSNBC, CNN, and legacy papers are doubling down on identity politics," Rantz told Fox News Digital. 

"This echo chamber of political theater and self-congratulatory scolding will continue for the next four years, but here’s the irony: instead of defeating Trumpism, they’re driving even more people into the arms of the GOP," Rantz added. "Americans are fed up, searching for sanity in the face of ‘woke’ extremism."

Some have suggested that Trump’s attacks on the media could scare off some liberal pundits. Reporters Without Borders has urged Trump to "cease attacks on the media and turn a new page" for his next administration after reporting that the president-elect "insulted, attacked, or threatened the media at least 108 times in public speeches or remarks from September 1 to October 24." 

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The Ringer’s "Press Box" podcast, which covers the media industry, recently examined what Resistance 2.0 could look like and co-host Joel Anderson suggested that some reporters and journalists might be nervous to express the same disdain for a vengeful Trump that was rampant last time around. 

"I’m worried that there won’t be much resistance," Anderson said, while co-host Bryan Curtis said a second anti-Trump resistance feels like it would be "muted if it happens at all." 

Trump’s victory came as CNN’s financial woes may be coming to a head now that the 2024 election is over, with staffers fretting about potential layoffs and salary cuts for on-air talent. 

Meanwhile, Comcast president Mike Cavanagh recently suggested the company could spin off its cable assets, including MSNBC, Bravo, CNBC and Syfy, into a separate company. But Cavanagh’s remarks came before far-left ideology was essentially rejected by the American electorate.

Now, a longtime TV news executive suggested that Comcast might have an "MSNBC problem" because extreme rhetoric coming from Reid and other hosts might make the network a liability for potential buyers if it truly wants to spin off cable assets. 

"Everyone has a right to free speech, however destructive, but it’s remarkable that Comcast is platforming this snobbish and disdainful programming," the TV news exec told Fox News Digital. 

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NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck believes liberal staffers will want to "stonewall the Trump administration at every turn," but said it’s unclear if that’s good for business. 

"CNN and MSNBC saw that their almost blood-thirsty, crazy-ex-girlfriend levels of obsession with Trump worked out the last time as resistance viewers poured in, so they're certain to at least make a go at it again. However, whether the sheep will come is another question," Houck told Fox News Digital. 

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Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.