Media Perspectives at the Deal Book Summit

During a recent roundtable event at the New York Times’ 2025 Deal Book Summit, MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle found herself in a heated exchange with fellow panelists. Host of MS NOW, Ruhle reacted to Charlamagne’s assertion that tuning into MSNBC guarantees a certain liberal viewpoint. “That’s just an assumption,” she interjected, visibly frustrated.

Ruhle continued, emphasizing that people stereotype news sources, saying, “You know what you’re going to get here, you know what you’re going to get there. I dispute that.” Charlamagne countered, “If you turn on Fox News, you know exactly what angle it’s coming from. Same with MSNBC—it’s news from the left.”

Comedian Andrew Schultz jumped in, jokingly asking Ruhle if she was ever surprised by the coverage on her own channel. “Are you like, ‘Oh my God! I didn’t see this take coming?’” Ruhle replied with an invitation to watch her show regularly.

Schultz acknowledged, “We watch your show,” casually shrugging it off. Ruhle, whose mother was described as an “avid Fox News watcher,” spent a considerable amount of the panel defending her and her family’s views on President Joe Biden’s mental state and their economic standing. The conversation frequently shifted to Donald Trump and his ongoing criticisms of liberal policies and media bias against conservatives.

Interestingly, trust in media has waned among Americans for years, recently hitting a low not seen in half a century. Reports indicate that American teens have also become increasingly skeptical of corporate and traditional media.

Charlamagne later remarked, “I don’t think news outlets are just making mistakes; they have an agenda.” Ruhle asked for clarification on what he meant by that. He specified the big players—MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News—arguing that they all have their own narratives to push. He insisted that if a viewpoint doesn’t fit, the networks often ignore it instead of adapting.