MSNBC host Joy Reid, on the final broadcast of her prime-time show on Monday, argued that fascism is present in the United States and urged her viewers to resist authoritarian forces in government.
“We begin tonight with what I think is the question. When you are in the midst of a crisis and specifically a crisis of democracy, How do you resist when fascism isn’t just coming, it’s already here? So, what, if anything, can you do about it?” the host said as she opened her final show. “For one thing, you can try to learn from history, from what people in this situation, in countries around the world and in America have done before. As my friend Rachel Maddow always says, history is here to help.”
Reid, an outspoken critic of President Trump for years, saw her show canceled over the weekend amid a larger restructuring of MSNBC’s programming.
The host told her audience to “fight back” and “never stop resisting,” without naming Trump directly.
Reid’s ouster came as Trump has intensified his attacks major broadcasters, and MSNBC specifically, as he campaigned for The White House.
Trump has threatened to use the power of the federal government to investigate networks he feels have treated him unfairly and banned outlets like the Associated Press from certain White House spaces over editorial practices.
The chairman of Trump’s FCC, Brendan Carr, earlier this month penned a letter to Comcast Corp. saying he planned to investigate the company over its diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
Comcast, NBC Universal’s parent company, is in the process of spinning off its linear cable assets as it looks to retool its business around streaming sports, entertainment and live events.
