President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace through a series of Truth Social posts on Sunday morning, August 17, declaring that the television commentator would soon lose her job and branding the network as effectively dead.
The confrontation began when Trump posted a cryptic message reading “Bela” on his social media platform, prompting various interpretations from his followers. In response to the post, a Truth Social user shared a doctored image of Wallace featuring a “Karen” haircut and red nose, accompanied by mocking captions including “Clown news” and references to her job security concerns.
Trump responded directly to the manipulated image, stating that Wallace is “a loser, with bad ratings, who was already thrown off of The View.” The president continued his attack by predicting her imminent dismissal and declaring the cable news network’s demise. His supporters amplified the criticism in the comments section, referring to Wallace as “Typhoid Mary Nicole Wallace” and suggesting she needed emergency assistance for her alleged job fears.
The verbal assault appeared to be retaliation for Wallace’s coverage of Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, August 15. The summit failed to produce a ceasefire agreement in the Ukraine conflict, despite Trump’s earlier promises of severe consequences if Putin refused to end the fighting.
Wallace had delivered sharp criticism of the Putin meeting during her Friday broadcast of “Deadline: White House.” She characterized the president’s interaction with the Russian leader as heinous, particularly given her interviews with Ukrainian victims of the conflict. The host accused Trump of lacking concern for democracy, American allies, and the sovereignty of democratic nations.
Before targeting Wallace specifically, Trump expressed broader frustration with media coverage of the Alaska summit. He claimed that news organizations violently distort the truth regarding his actions and suggested that even hypothetically securing major concessions from Russia would draw criticism from what he termed “Fake News” and Democratic opponents.
On Monday, August 18, Wallace used her television program to respond to Trump’s social media tirade. She indicated that the president becomes furious with anyone covering truthful aspects of his meeting with Putin and other stories. Referencing Trump’s Sunday morning outburst, Wallace acknowledged experiencing his anger firsthand, though she limited her direct response to that single comment.
During her Monday broadcast, Wallace continued her criticism of the president by fact-checking his statements about mail-in voting. After playing a clip of Trump discussing his desire to ban such ballots, she interrupted the video to provide corrections. Wallace noted that the United States joins several other countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and Switzerland, in utilizing mail-in voting systems.
Wallace emphasized the lack of evidence supporting widespread voter fraud claims, noting Trump’s continued search for such proof. She pointed out the irony that Trump himself has utilized mail-in voting, according to reporting from The New York Times, while simultaneously attacking the practice during high-stakes diplomatic periods.
The MSNBC host concluded that Trump’s voting-related statements represented executive order preparations addressing what she characterized as one of his most dangerous and unfounded delusions regarding the 2020 presidential election results.
Wallace currently hosts the weekday political program “Deadline: White House” on MSNBC, following her previous role as White House Communications Director during President George W. Bush’s second term. She briefly co-hosted ABC’s daytime talk show “The View” starting in September 2014, but departed after one season.
Despite Trump’s claims regarding poor performance, Wallace’s program maintains strong viewership within MSNBC’s lineup, consistently outperforming CNN’s competing programming while capturing roughly half of Fox News’ audience numbers. On August 8, her 4 p.m. hour attracted over one million total viewers, while the 5 p.m. segment drew more than one million viewers.
The exchange represents the latest chapter in Trump’s ongoing conflicts with MSNBC personalities, including previous disputes with “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, as well as late-night host Lawrence O’Donnell. Trump has previously contacted MSNBC executives directly to demand personnel changes at the network.
