President Donald Trump referred to CNN and MSNBC “illegal” during a speech at the Department of Justice on Friday. It marked the latest escalation in his language about the news media and those two networks in particular since he returned to the Oval Office in January.
In his remarks, Trump referred to MSNBC as MSDNC—an apparent reference to the Democratic National Committee.
“I believe that CNN and MSDNC, who literally write 97.6% bad about me are political arms of the Democrat Party,” he said. “In my opinion they’re really corrupt and they’re illegal. What they do is illegal.”
TVNewser has reached out to both CNN and MSNBC for comment, but none was received at press time.
The Trump administration’s antipathy for both networks is well-known. In February, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to publicly criticize Brian Roberts—CEO of MSNBC’s parent company Comcast—for running a “corrupt operation.”
“They should be forced to pay vast sums of money for the damage they’ve done to our Country,” Trump added.
That same month, Trump swatted away a question from CNN anchor and White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins during a meeting in the Oval Office saying the network had no “credibility.”
Collins was a frequent foil of the president during his first administration as well. “I think if you’re interviewing an elected official who is paid by the taxpayers, they shouldn’t like all of your questions,” she told TVNewser in an interview last year. “I always seek to be fair and respectful, but what’s the point of interviewing someone if you’re not going to go there and ask them what everyone’s thinking?”
CNN and MSNBC aren’t the only news networks to face Trump’s ire. In December, ABC News settled a defamation suit with the then-president elect over remarks made by anchor George Stephanopoulos. Trump is also in the midst of litigation against CBS News and its parent company, Paramount Global, over an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris that aired on 60 Minutes during the 2024 election cycle.
While reports have suggested that Paramount head Shari Redstone is eager to settle the suit, the corporation moved to dismiss the case last week.
In one of their motions to dismiss, Paramount lawyers said that Trump was seeking to “punish a news organization for constitutionally protected editorial judgments they do not like.”
