President Donald Trump lashed out Thursday at MSNBC hosts Nicolle Wallace and Rachel Maddow, demanding they be “forced to resign” for what he called “disgraceful” comments about 13-year-old cancer survivor Devarjaye “D.J.”
Daniel, honored as a Secret Service agent during Trump’s congressional address earlier this week. The fiery rebuke, delivered while signing executive orders, reignited a clash between the president and the liberal cable network, drawing sharp reactions from Daniel’s family and amplifying partisan tensions.
Trump singled out the hosts for their remarks about Daniel, a brain cancer patient whose badge ceremony during Tuesday’s address moved many to tears.
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“Frankly what Nicolle Wallace said … is disgraceful. She should be forced to resign, and Rachel Maddow should be forced to resign,” Trump said, flanked by aides in the Oval Office. “Nobody watches [Maddow] anyway … but what they said the other day, they should be forced to resign [for what they said] about that young person who is suffering greatly.”
Maddow had branded the moment a “disgusting” political stunt, claiming Trump “made a spectacle” of Daniel “as if the president had something to do with” his survival. She tied it to cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), alleging they slashed pediatric cancer research funding—a charge the White House denies.
Wallace, meanwhile, invoked Daniel to jab Trump over the January 6 Capitol riot, saying she hoped the teen “never has to defend the United States Capitol against Donald Trump’s supporters” or see rioters pardoned.
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The backlash was swift and personal. Daniel’s father, Theodis, a Navy veteran who served on the USS Kitty Hawk, unloaded on Maddow in a statement to the New York Post. “She needs to shut her mouth if she has nothing nice to say,” he fumed. “This lady didn’t even serve time in the military … She does not need to put her bad energy on us.”
The family’s outrage underscored the emotional stakes of a moment meant to celebrate D.J.’s resilience—having endured 11 brain surgeries since age 6—now mired in political mudslinging.
The address itself highlighted Trump’s agenda, from border security to deregulation, but Daniel’s honor was a standout. Democrats, however, stayed seated, refusing to applaud not just Daniel but also “angel mothers” mourning children killed by illegal immigrants and Peyton McNabb, a 19-year-old athlete injured competing against a transgender male. Trump used the spotlight to sign an executive order renaming the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge after Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old murdered by illegal immigrants, honoring her love of wildlife—a move that drew cheers from Republicans but silence from the left.
Trump’s call for resignations—echoing his long feud with MSNBC—drew mixed reactions. Supporters hailed him for defending Daniel, with posts on X labeling Wallace and Maddow “pure trash” and “depraved.” Critics, though, saw it as a distraction, one X user scoffing, “Who the hell does Trump think he is? He doesn’t get to fire journalists.” MSNBC stood by its hosts, with a spokesperson dismissing Trump’s remarks as “an attack on free speech.”
The flap comes as Trump, fresh off his January 20 inauguration, flexes his executive muscle with orders and a DOGE-led efficiency push. For Daniel, whose Secret Service honor capped years of battling cancer, the moment was meant to inspire. Instead, it’s now a flashpoint in a polarized capital, with Trump vowing to keep the focus on “that young man who’s suffering greatly”—and his detractors in the crosshairs.
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