Media

MSNBC Is Apparently Trying To Trick Its Viewers Into Thinking They’re At The RNC

MSNBC hosts used an LED video screen to pretend they are at the RNC. [Screenshot/MSNBC]

[Screenshot/MSNBC]

Julianna Frieman Contributor
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MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, Joy Reid, Jen Psaki and other hosts sat in front of a large LED video screen during their coverage of the Republican National Convention (RNC) to give the false impression they were broadcasting live from the event in Milwaukee.

The MSNBC personalities covered the four-day convention from the comfort of their Manhattan headquarters, according to the New York Times.

“If news organizations don’t represent where they are clearly, then how is the audience to have faith and confidence in the actual content of the reporting?” media veteran and former CNN Washington Bureau Chief Frank Sesno told the outlet.

“It can feel like a frivolous thing — oh, well, gee, we’re just using the pictures behind them — but there’s something profoundly important here.”


MSNBC only sent Katy Tur, the host of “Katy Tur Reports” at 2 p.m., and Stephanie Ruhle, the host of “The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle” at 11 p.m., to report on location at Fiserv Forum.

MSNBC reporter Jacob Soboroff was also at the RNC, where Donald Trump Jr. called him a “clown” on Monday for asking about “family separation” and told him to “get out of here.” (RELATED: Joe Scarborough Says Biden Staying In Race Because His Aide Have ‘Financial’ Interests, Angering Others)

Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio jabbed MSNBC for its false impression that Maddow, Reid and Psaki were actually on the scene at the RNC Thursday evening in an interview with CNN.


“So good to see you, thank you so much,” CNN host Jake Tapper said. “Um, first of all —”

“And you’re actually here live!” Rubio interjected.

“We are here live, as opposed to some other networks that just have big LED – who shall remain nameless,” Tapper responded as the senator laughed.

On Monday, MSNBC pulled “Morning Joe” off the air, less than 48 hours after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. CNN reported that the cable news network made its decision out of concern that a guest would make inappropriate remarks, which an MSNBC spokesperson denied when contacted by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The next day, “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough bashed his own network on air, declaring that the next time MSNBC decides to run a newsfeed during his show, “the newsfeed will be us or they can get somebody else to host the show.”