Rachel Maddow and Alex Wagner lead MSNBC’s coverage of Donald Trump’s first 100 days
President-elect Donald Trump has big plans for the first 100 days of his administration, as does MSNBC. A week before Trump’s second inauguration, the channel has unveiled an ambitious lineup of programs that will run from January to April. And much of it speaks directly to MSNBC’s core demo: progressive viewers concerned about what these first 100 days will bring to Washington, D.C. and beyond.
To show how determined the network is to reconnect with this audience, Rachel Maddow comes off the bench “once a week” and returns to a Monday-Friday schedule at 9 p.m. ET from January 20 to April 30. (All times Eastern.) The Rachel Maddow Show has been a Monday-only program since 2022 as its host has taken on additional projects for MSNBC, including podcasts and documentaries.
Maddow’s presence at 9 p.m. remains a reliable ratings driver for the network. Just last weekThe Rachel Maddow Show was MSNBC’s highest-rated show on Mondays, with more than 1.6 million total viewers and 117,000 viewers in the Adults 25-54 demo.
Maddow’s return to a full-week schedule means that Alex Wagner Tonight I’m taking a temporary leave of absence. But Wagner herself stays busy as a roving reporter for the new series Trumpland: The First 100 Days.
According to MSNBC, Trumpland will send Wagner across the United States to report on the new administration’s impact on specific cities and communities. She’ll be on the road through the end of April, with The Rachel Maddow Show and Alex Wagner Tonight returning to their regular schedules on May 1.
Alex Wagner to Host Series Regular Trumpland: The First 100 DaysCourtesy of MSNBC
“The moment we find ourselves in requires us to cover the first days of the new administration across the country,” the MSNBC president said. Rashida Jones said in a statement. “No one is better equipped to bring these stories from the field to MSNBC viewers than our intrepid Alex Wagner.”
Maddow and Wagner aren’t the only MSNBC personalities staying very busy over the next 100 days. All prime-time network anchors—whose devoted fans are ready to follow them to Brooklyn and beyond…take on additional missions.
Jen Psakifor example, will host the new podcast The Blueprint, which will retrace the path taken by the Democratic Party to emerge from the electoral desert. In the meantime, Joy Reid plans to pay close attention to how Trump delivers on the many promises he made on the campaign trail about how he will address the economy, education and other hot-button issues.
Elsewhere, Chris Hayes will spearhead a recurring segment titled Here is What is True, while The Beat’s Ari Melber also plans to be at the forefront of fact-checking; Nicole Wallace plans additional installments of his segments on American autocracy on Deadline: White House; Lawrence O’Donnell will set aside time on The Last Word to analyze the role of Congress during Trump’s first 100 days; And Stephanie Ruhle will continue its exploration of the many and varied American billionaires through its Money, Power, Politics segment.
MSNBC’s press release on the launch of the second Trump administration follows a turbulent post-election period in which the channel saw significant viewership declines as weary viewers turned away from the news. His flagship morning show, Morning Joe, also faced backlash:and the audience drops—after the co-hosts Joe Scarborough And Mika Brzezinski announced they had a private meeting with Trump in Florida.
“Joe and I realized it was time to do something different,” Brzezinski noted at the time. “And that starts with not just talking about Donald Trump, but talking with him.”
Although MSNBC’s ratings have not fully returned to their pre-election peaks, the network saw gains in the week when the calendar shifted from 2024 to 2025. And that momentum could continue as Trump returns to the Oval Office and the impacts of his administration are felt more keenly.
Of course, MSNBC’s impending separation from NBCUniversal News Group looms for the rest of the year. as part of SpinCo— the new company that will house many of NBCUniversal’s cable assets, including CNBC. The process of dismantling the two cable news networks is expected to take much of 2025 and could see MSNBC leave its longtime home at 30 Rockefeller Plaza for another location.
