Fox News Channel has long been the cable news king that blows MSNBC and CNN out of the water in terms of ratings most hours of the day. And when a TV news outlet hosts a major political event like the Republican primary debate on Wednesday night, they’re set to rake in millions of more views than they normally do. With that as the backdrop, MSNBC’s Alex Wagner ended the Tuesday night edition of her eponymous show by literally begging her viewers not to change the channel to watch the debate.
The discussion of debate ratings was delved into by her guest, former CNN media janitor Brian Stelter when he clownishly predicted that Fox News (his favorite hate object) was only going to get a small bump in viewership because former President Trump was skipping the debate:
Trump is going to cut the debate ratings in half. That's the virtual guarantee. The ratings were 24 million back in 2015 when Trump was on stage – center stage – as you point out last week insulting Megyn Kelly. 24 million. Fox will be lucky to have four to five million viewers watch this debate. And so, Trump's absence is going to be felt.
Thinking he was being insightful, Stelter noted that “most people will just skip it” as what happens with debate no matter who hosts it.
He then boasted that he would be one of them as he was choosing to watch Wagner’s show instead. “But they're going to watch you. It's in my calendar already,” he told her as Wagner pitched MSNBC’s lineup of counterprogramming and “post-debate analysis.”
After thanking Stelter for his “wisdom,” Wagner was promptly joined via split screen by her fellow MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell as they prepared to hand off the show. O’Donnell quipped that he would be skipping the debate too since he’ll have to host his show, but Wagner immediately followed up by putting her hands together and begging her viewers “Please, please” don’t change the channel to watch the debate:
O’DONNELL: Good evening, Alex. And I'm going to be one who skips it, like Brian just said. Because I will be sitting right here at 10 o’clock.
WAGNER: Yes!
O’DONNELL: Doing The Last Word. Doing my duty in this hour—
WAGNER: I too!
O’DONNELL: - of television. And as far as I'm concerned, that's the only thing that’s happening on TV tomorrow night. I don't know anything about the stuff you were just talking about.
WAGNER: No. It doesn't exist. It's like a tree falling in the forest. Alex Wagner and Lawrence O’Donnell will be on the air at 9 o’clock and 10 o’clock tomorrow. Please, please join us America!
“It doesn’t exist,” yet she was telling people to come watch them talk about it when it was over. That’s called desperation.
Alex Wagner’s plea to her viewers to skip the Republican debate on a conservative network was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Sleep Number and 4imprint. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
MSNBC’s Alex Wagner Tonight
August 22, 2023
9:57:35 p.m. Eastern(…)
BRIAN STELTER: Trump is going to cut the debate ratings in half. That's the virtual guarantee. The ratings were 24 million back in 2015 when Trump was on stage – center stage – as you point out last week insulting Megyn Kelly. 24 million. Fox will be lucky to have four to five million viewers watch this debate. And so, Trump's absence is going to be felt.
(…)
9:59:51 p.m. Eastern
STELTER: And most people will just skip it.
ALEX WAGNER: Well I hope they don't --
STELTER: Because they're exhausted.
WAGNER: Yes, but –
STELTER: But they're going to watch you.
WAGNER: Yes! We will be on air tomorrow at nine and we will have special post-debate analysis on this network at 11 which I hope people tune into.
STELTER: It's in my calendar already.
WAGNER: Well, please. I hope so. And I hope to hear your perspective on all of it in the coming days, weeks, my friend. It’s great to see you, Brian Stelter.
STELTER: Thanks.
WAGNER: Thank you as always for your wisdom. That is our show for this evening. Now, it is time for The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell. Good evening Lawrence.
LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Good evening, Alex. And I'm going to be one who skips it, like Brian just said. Because I will be sitting right here at 10 o’clock.
WAGNER: Yes!
O’DONNELL: Doing The Last Word. Doing my duty in this hour—
WAGNER: I too!
O’DONNELL: - of television. And as far as I'm concerned, that's the only thing that’s happening on TV tomorrow night. I don't know anything about the stuff you were just talking about.
WAGNER: No. It doesn't exist. It's like a tree falling in the forest. Alex Wagner and Lawrence O’Donnell will be on the air at 9 o’clock and 10 o’clock tomorrow. Please, please join us America!
O’DONNELL: That’s right. I will be watching Alex Wagner at nine and I will be listening to myself at 10.
