Trump attacks TV hosts Scarborough and Maher on Truth Social
The former president claimed their shows had 'REALLY BAD RATINGS' and were 'boring'.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Trump attacks TV hosts Scarborough and Maher on Truth Social
Photograph: HuffPost (embedded from source)
What this story says
- President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Joe Scarborough's show is 'too predictable and boring' and has 'REALLY BAD RATINGS.'
- Joe Scarborough responded on air that he had asked Trump not to watch his show and to 'watch channels where they say shit that you like.'
- Scarborough's show is the No. 1 cable morning program in Washington, D.C., according to Jonathan Lemire.
- Trump also criticized Bill Maher's show ratings on Truth Social.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
61/100
Hype
41/100
6 sources · methodology
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the television programs hosted by Joe Scarborough and Bill Maher had poor viewership. Trump wrote that Scarborough's show was 'too predictable and boring' and had 'REALLY BAD RATINGS,' adding that it would soon be 'dead.' He also stated that Bill Maher's ratings were 'so low that it is hard to believe his show can continue.'
On the 'Morning Joe' program, Joe Scarborough responded to Trump's remarks. Co-host Jonathan Lemire read Trump's Truth Social post on air. Scarborough stated that he had previously asked Trump not to watch his show, advising him instead to 'watch channels where they say shit that you like.' Lemire reported that Scarborough's show is the No. 1 cable morning program in Washington, D.C. The 'Morning Joe' program also noted that Trump had previously attempted to ban MS NOW, CNN, and Politico from the White House, but a federal judge ordered a temporary restoration of access for those outlets.
Disagreement on ratings
Donald Trump stated on Truth Social that Joe Scarborough's show had 'REALLY BAD RATINGS.' The Independent reported that it was unclear why Trump thought 'Morning Joe' was struggling, citing recent ratings that showed the program had increased viewership by 27 percent year-over-year, averaging 733,000 viewers in August.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated or right-rated reports mentioned the specific date of Trump's Truth Social posts. No outlet provided specific ratings figures for Bill Maher's show, only Trump's assertion that they were low.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 28 Sept 2026, 21:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
President Donald Trump issued an early-morning thrashing to Bill Maher and Joe Scarborough over their alleged low ratings (Getty)
The Independent — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
5 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports led with President Donald Trump's Truth Social posts attacking Joe Scarborough and Bill Maher. The reports noted Trump's claims that Scarborough's show was 'too predictable and boring' and had 'REALLY BAD RATINGS.' These reports also detailed Scarborough's on-air response, where he told Trump to 'watch channels where they say shit that you like.' The left-rated reports included Jonathan Lemire's statement that 'Morning Joe' is the No. 1 cable morning program in Washington, D.C. Some reports also mentioned Trump's past attempt to ban news outlets from the White House and a judge's order to restore their access.
Centre
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated centre has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Right
1 rated outlet
- The right-rated report led with President Trump's Truth Social posts criticizing Bill Maher and Joe Scarborough. It stated Trump's prediction that Scarborough's show would soon be 'dead,' citing what Trump called 'REALLY BAD RATINGS.' The report also noted Trump's advice to Republicans to stop using Maher as a 'sounding board,' as it made them look 'sooo weak and foolish.'
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Trump attacks TV hosts Scarborough and Maher on Truth Social?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 83% are rated left, 0% are rated centre, 17% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Trump attacks TV hosts Scarborough and Maher on Truth Social left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Trump attacks TV hosts Scarborough and Maher on Truth Social biased?
- Trump attacks TV hosts Scarborough and Maher on Truth Social is one event reported by 6 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered Trump attacks TV hosts Scarborough and Maher on Truth Social?
- 6 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Donald Trump post on Truth Social about Joe Scarborough's show?
- President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Joe Scarborough's show was 'too predictable and boring' and had 'REALLY BAD RATINGS.' He also stated that the show would soon be 'dead.'
- How did Joe Scarborough respond to Trump's criticism?
- Joe Scarborough responded on air that he had previously asked President Trump not to watch his show. He advised Trump to 'watch channels where they say shit that you like.'
- What did the reports say about the ratings of Joe Scarborough's show?
- Jonathan Lemire reported that Joe Scarborough's show is the No. 1 cable morning program in Washington, D.C. One report noted that recent ratings showed a 27 percent year-over-year increase in viewership for the program.
- Did any reports mention Bill Maher's show ratings?
- President Donald Trump criticized Bill Maher's show ratings on Truth Social, stating they were 'so low that it is hard to believe his show can continue.' No other outlet provided specific ratings for Maher's program.
Read it at the source
6 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
5- ‘Morning Joe’ Host Reminds Trump To ‘Watch Channels Where They Say S**t That You Like’ After Truth Social Attack (opens HuffPost in a new tab)
- Trump rants about TV shows he doesn’t like in Monday morning social media spree (opens The Independent (US) in a new tab)
The Independent (US) — is The Independent (US) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump rants about TV shows he doesn’t like in Monday morning social media spree (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump declares Morning Joe 'dead!' — and gets immediate blowback live on air (opens Raw Story in a new tab)
- Trump Rips Bill Maher and Joe Scarborough in Wild Rant (opens Mediaite in a new tab)
Centre
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Right
1Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
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