President Trump didn’t hold back Thursday in the Oval Office, unloading on MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace and Rachel Maddow. He blasted their comments about Devarjaye “D.J.” Daniel, a 13-year-old brain cancer survivor made an honorary Secret Service agent during his Tuesday address to Congress. “What she said the other day about that young man is disgraceful,” Trump said of Wallace, adding both “should be forced to resign.”
The moment came during a speech that drew 82 percent viewer approval, per CBS. Trump highlighted D.J.’s six-year fight with brain cancer, defying a five-month prognosis. Secret Service Director Sean Curran presented the boy, an aspiring cop, with credentials—a scene that moved Republicans to chant “DJ!” while Democrats sat silent.
Wallace couldn’t resist twisting it. On MSNBC, she said, “I hope he never has to defend the United States 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,” tying D.J.’s honor to January 6. Conservatives erupted, calling it a sick politicization of a child’s struggle.
Maddow piled on, labeling it “disgusting” that Trump praised D.J. “as if the president had something to do with that.” She claimed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts slashed pediatric cancer research funding—a stretch, since Trump’s only been in office weeks. Republicans see this as proof of media desperation.
Trump’s had enough. “I’ve never been a fan of hers, and she’s not very talented,” he said of Wallace, jabbing Maddow too: “Nobody watches her anyway.” He slammed MSNBC as “worse than CNN,” a network he’s long dubbed “fake news,” insisting both hosts have “lost all credibility” over their attack on a “young person who is suffering greatly.”
D.J.’s dad, Theodis Daniel, fired back at the hosts. “She needs to shut her mouth if she has nothing nice to say,” he told the New York Post of Maddow, a Navy vet who served on the USS Kitty Hawk. “She does not need to put her bad energy on us,” he added, defending his son’s moment.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt joined the fray Wednesday, calling Wallace’s remarks “sad and frankly pathetic.” She accused Democrats and liberal media of letting “hatred for the president” override decency. Posts on X echoed this, branding the hosts “sick” and “twisted.”
Trump tied it to a bigger fight. Asked if Democrats are “out of touch” after his speech’s strong reception, he said their disruptions—Green’s ejection, walkouts—were “very embarrassing.” He’s pushing tariffs, tax cuts, deportations—policies conservatives say the media distorts to protect a failing elite.
Republicans see blood. MSNBC didn’t respond, and Wallace stayed mum on her Thursday show. Trump’s base wants heads to roll—figuratively—for dragging a cancer-stricken kid into their vendetta. This isn’t about ratings; it’s about a media that’s lost the plot, and conservatives aim to make them pay.
