President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on MSNBC following the cable network’s announcement that it would rebrand as “My Source News Opinion World,” or MS NOW, as part of its separation from NBC News. Trump posted his criticism on Truth Social early Thursday morning, August 21.
In an all-caps social media post, Trump wrote: “MSNBC IS A FAILURE BY ANY NAME!!!” He characterized the name change as an attempt by the network to distance itself from what he called the “stench of their fake news product” due to poor ratings performance.
The President also targeted Comcast CEO Brian Roberts in his Truth Social tirade, referring to him as “dopey” and describing the media giant as “Concast.” Trump suggested that Comcast was “hopelessly and aimlessly flailing in the wind” in an attempt to separate itself from what he termed “the garbage that they created.”
The rebrand announcement came Monday, August 18, when Mark Lazarus, who will lead the new publicly traded company called Versant, informed staff of the upcoming changes. The network will lose NBC’s iconic peacock symbol and create a new logo featuring a red-and-white striped flag on a blue background as part of the $7 billion spinoff.
MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler addressed employees in a memo Monday morning, explaining that NBCUniversal decided the brand required a new, separate identity during the transition. She emphasized that while the name would change, the network’s commitment to its work and audiences would remain unchanged. Kutler promised a broad-based marketing campaign for the rebrand, describing it as unlike anything the network had done in recent memory.
The name change represents a reversal from earlier assurances given to staff. Lazarus had previously told MSNBC employees during a January meeting that they could “take that off of your worry list” regarding potential name changes. Company insiders expressed concern that the about-face did not set a positive precedent for the new management’s trustworthiness.
Social media users quickly mocked the MS NOW acronym, with various alternative interpretations including “Most Surely No One Watching” and “Majorly Skewed News Overly Woke.” Some users began calling it “BS NOW,” while others noted the unfortunate similarity to the medical abbreviation for multiple sclerosis.
The rebranding faces practical challenges beyond public perception. The domain name “msnow.com” currently belongs to a Korean website about motorized snow vehicles, while “ms-now.com” redirects to meal-delivery service Marley Spoon, affiliated with Martha Stewart.
MSNBC staffers expressed mixed reactions to the name change, with some questioning the grammatical structure and meaning of the full title. One insider noted that while “news” and “opinion” are standard journalism terms, “world” seemed out of place since world events would typically fall under news and opinion coverage.
Despite concerns about the name, MSNBC employees reported feeling cautiously optimistic about the network’s post-NBC future. Staff members indicated that the separation would eliminate layers of bureaucracy from Comcast and NBC that had previously hindered show expansion and budget requests.
The spinoff will separate MSNBC from NBC News operations, requiring the cable channel to build its own independent newsroom. Over the past eight months, MSNBC has hired dozens of journalists from CNN, Bloomberg, Politico, The Washington Post, and other news organizations to establish this separate news-gathering operation.
Trump has previously attacked MSNBC using the nickname “MSDNC,” suggesting the network serves as a Democratic Party mouthpiece. He has also questioned whether the outlet should have broadcasting rights, calling it a “threat to our democracy” earlier this year.
The network will continue operating under the MSNBC name for several more months as it completes the transition process. The full rebrand to MS NOW is scheduled to take effect closer to the spinoff’s completion at the end of 2025.
