MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
Nicolle Wallace isn’t just covering America’s political realignment—she’s actually lived it. The former George W. Bush communications director has become a defining voice of the resistance to Donald Trump, anchoring "Deadline: White House" on MSNBC with clear eyes and keen political insight.
In a Q&A with Status, Wallace opened up about the challenge of covering Trump’s return without becoming desensitized—or repetitive. She explained why her team rarely takes the president live, reflected on the media’s failed attempts to win over the MAGA bubble, and shrugged off the idea that she’s somehow become a “leftist.”
We also spoke about MSNBC’s evolving identity, the impact of Comcast’s corporate shakeup, and why Wallace’s new podcast is designed for the people who never have time to sit down and watch cable news.
Below is the Q&A, lightly edited for style.
You were a sharp critic of Donald Trump throughout his first term—and during his post-presidency. How do you cover this administration without becoming numb to the chaos, or repetitive?
Numb is on the menu? Where do I sign up? I think that the scale of Trump's damage in the first 100 days feels post-partisan and largely universal—everyone will suffer the economic consequences of a chaotic tariff policy, everyone will suffer the consequences of conspiracy theorists messing with vaccine access and information, and everyone is less safe because of the brain drain throughout the national security agencies. I've never felt more curious about what I'm covering.
Some argue that media overexposure helped Trump rise—and return. What do you make of that critique? I've noticed that your program generally refrains from taking Trump live.
We figure it out on a daily basis. I think those critiques are important and fair, but we try to stare down whatever is happening with clear eyes and make the best decisions we can. Trump can't speak without lying and the lies can be more easily separated from the truth of we don't take them live, but when he's ambushing the leader of Ukraine, that's something with global consequences so we would play a good deal of that uninterrupted.
Do you think it's possible at this juncture to penetrate the MAGA Media bubble with fact-based journalism?
I don't know but I also don't really understand why…
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