Report: MSNBC President Rashida Jones Mulling Network Exit

MSNBC president Rashida Jones is considering leaving the network after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in to a second term in the White House as the left-leaning channel’s ratings crash, according to a report.

Jones – who took the helm in 2021 and became the first black woman to lead a major national news network – is mulling an exit from the job early next year, according to a report by Oliver Darcy in his Status newsletter. 

The move would only come after Trump is sworn in to serve a second term as president on Jan. 20, Darcy reported, citing anonymous sources.

“It’s amazing how people want to spend more time with their families or look for new challenges when the ratings crash,” a TV exec said sarcastically — skeptical that Jones would be leaving the helm on her own accord.

Rashida Jones

“Of course she’s making the decision,” the TV exec added. “They’re all leaving on their own, Norah O’Donnell, Chris Wallace.”

CNN anchor Chris Wallace was reportedly told his two poorly-rated shows would be axed and his massive salary slashed before he announced in November that he was leaving the network, according to Puck News.

And Norah O’Donnell announced in July that she would be leaving her CBS anchor chair — after her salary was slashed and the network’s ratings have continued to fall over the past few years.

A network source, however, disputed speculation that Jones would be forced out. “Anyone who believes that Rashida’s potential decision to leave is influenced by anyone other than herself clearly underestimates the respect she has inside 30 Rock,” a network source said.

MSNBC’s ratings have been in free fall since Trump clinched the White House in November.

Since Election Day, MSNBC recorded an average of 497,000 total-day viewers – a 47% drop, according to data from Nielsen. The network only registered a paltry 49,000 viewers in the advertising-coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54, according to Nielsen.