MSNBC has received intense backlash online from right-wing political commentators for being the only major news network not to air Charlie Kirk’s posthumous Medal of Freedom ceremony on Tuesday.
CNN, Fox News, ABC News, NBC News, NewsNation, Newsmax, One America News and Right Side Broadcasting Network all aired the ceremony live on Tuesday afternoon. MSNBC, meanwhile, opted to instead move forward with a new episode of “Deadline: White House.” The news network did, however, acknowledge the ceremony and report on it and President Trump’s presence there, as well as the acceptance of the award by Kirk’s widow, Erika.
That was not enough to satisfy some members of the MAGA community, though, who slammed the decision online as “vile” and “pathetic.”
In a tweet featuring screenshots taken simultaneously of all of the major news networks’ Tuesday afternoon programming, Republican pundit Eric Deters wrote, “In a pathetic, biased tantrum, MSNBC—the propaganda arm of the radical left—stands alone as the ONLY network boycotting President Trump’s heroic Medal of Freedom ceremony for Charlie Kirk, proving once again they’re too cowardly to cover real American patriotism.”
🚨BREAKING: In a pathetic, biased tantrum, MSNBC—the propaganda arm of the radical left—stands alone as the ONLY network boycotting President Trump's heroic Medal of Freedom ceremony for Charlie Kirk, proving once again they're too cowardly to cover real American patriotism. pic.twitter.com/pO9mgO0WTC
— Eric Deters (@bulllaw) October 14, 2025
Elsewhere, TV News Now wrote on X, “In a disgraceful move, MSNBC was the only network refusing to air President Trump’s Charlie Kirk Medal of Freedom ceremony live, choosing instead to attack Trump’s tariffs and economy.” Another user accused MSNBC of being “vile and filled with hate.”
There were some viewers who defended the network’s decision, including one X user, who argued that MSNBC was “right not to carry” the ceremony.
“We’re here to honor and remember a fearless warrior for liberty, beloved leader who galvanized the next generation like nobody I’ve ever seen before,” Trump said Tuesday of Kirk, who was shot and killed at a public debate event at the Utah Valley University campus on Sept. 10. “[Charlie was] an American patriot of the deepest conviction, the finest quality and the highest caliber.”
Erika Kirk accepted the Medal of Freedom in her late husband’s place Tuesday. “Thank you, Mr. President, for honoring my husband in such a profound and meaningful way,” she told Trump at the event. “Charlie always admired your commitment to freedom and that’s something that both of you shared. So, thank you. Your support of our family and the work that Charlie devoted his life to will be something I cherish forever.”
