Rachel Maddow on how she plans to cover Trump
In a USA TODAY exclusive, Rachel Maddow tells Gary Levin why she is heading back to MSNBC 5 days a week and how she plans to cover the Trump presidency.
Lawrence O’Donnell, host of “The Last Word” weeknights on MSNBC, hasn’t been on the air recently.
As happens when any anchor or TV personality of note, local or national, doesn’t appear where we’re used to them appearing, people ask where they are. The loyalty to TV news personalities is unique among media figures, no doubt because they show up in your home (or on your laptop or phone) every night.
In O’Donnell’s case, he provided the answer to his absence in advance, in a discussion with Rachel Maddow as she handed off her show to his on March 12.
Where is Lawrence O’Donnell?
O’Donnell joked with Maddow, telling her he was taking some time off because he was “exhausted” after covering Donald Trump. He noted that Maddow, who under a new contract was hosting her show only on Mondays, pledged to host every night for the first 100 days of the new administration. (It’s not like they haven’t had anything to cover.)
“I know you’ve pledged to cover and be here for the first 100 days of the Trump presidency,” O’Donnell said to Maddow. “I hope you noticed that I did not make that same pledge when you did.”
He went on to say, “This is day 52. I thought it was day 92. It turns out it’s day 52, Rachel. And I’m exhausted at day 52, and so I’m going to take next week off. And I’m telling you that now because I know you don’t like it when I just drift away. I’m just taking next week off, then I’m going to come back and go with you all the way to the 100 days.”
“Take me with you,” Maddow said. “Can I go with you?”
“No, no, no,” O’Donnell said. “You said 100 days, you said 100 days. You can’t. You said 100 days.”
Who is Lawrence O’Donnell?
O’Donnell is a frequent critic of Trump and his administration. He’s worked in politics for a long time, including as an aide to the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He has also worked as a writer and a sometime actor. O’Donnell was a writer and producer of “The West Wing,” NBC’s series about a president who embodied the liberal wish-fulfillment of what a president could be.
He is expected back on the air soon.
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