We regret to inform you that MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow had another normal one. During an interminable “No Kings” rant to open her eponymous show, she thought she was making fun of Brevard County, Florida Sheriff Wayne Ivey. Instead, she further embarrassed herself in front of her audience.
Consider the fundamental lack of self-awareness needed to vomit this hot take out:
WATCH: Rachel Maddow tries to mock Brevard County, FL Sheriff Wayne Ivey after protest warnings, ends up beclowning herself with B-roll of protesters standing on the curb and not obstructing traffic: exactly as Ivey intended. pic.twitter.com/j5LOCnAtuH
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) June 17, 2025
MSNBC THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW
6/16/25
9:03 PM
RACHEL MADDOW: You might have seen headlines last week about the Brevard County, Florida, sheriff last week who called a press conference to threaten that he would sic dogs on people and his officers would not just put people in jail, they would put people in the hospital. He literally got up at a press conference and said, “We will kill you”, talking about violence he expected at any anti-Trump protests in Brevard county, Florida. After that bizarre show of intimidation from that sheriff in Brevard County, Florida, turns out people in Brevard County, Florida were not at all intimidated by what he said. As you can see from local headlines like this one, quote: “‘ No Kings’ anti-Trump protests draw thousands”, in Brevard County and Cocoa and Palm Bay. I mean, the sheriff gets out there and says, we will kill you and Brevard County, Florida is like, “You know what? We’ve got a right to protest. We have a right to make protest signs of any kind, including ones that show Donald Trump in a big wig made up like Marie Antoinette, saying, let them eat cake and you are not going to stop us from doing it. We are Americans, we have the right to do this, we will protest.”
Some of the most unintentionally funny content on MSNBC invariably ends up being Maddow reaching for the smelling salts (or perhaps bath salts) upon discovering some iteration of masculine expression from law enforcement. Whether it is HSI agents in tactical gear or a Florida county sheriff issuing a plainspoken warning to would-be rioters, Maddow predictably overreacts with weak mockery meant to mask her fear and dread.
Perhaps Maddow would prefer the sort of handcuffed law enforcement that stands back as vandals destroy cities under the guise of protest and allow the human feces to flow in our big city streets. But America rejected that sort of thing this past November.
In order to make her dopey point Maddow misrepresents Ivey’s warnings, which were clearly directed to those who would direct deadly force towards law enforcement. Per USA Today:
A Florida sheriff warned immigration enforcement protesters that law enforcement would "kill you, graveyard dead" if they become violent toward deputies.
"If you hit one of us, you're going to the hospital and jail, and most likely get bitten by one of our big, beautiful dogs that we have here," Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said at a June 12 news conference.
"If you throw a brick, a fire bomb or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains, because we will kill you, graveyard dead. We're not going to play."
Unsurprisingly, the Russia Hoax promoter saw the opportunity to further disinform her viewing public, stretching the narrow warning into a threat against all protesters and a directive not to turn out at all. And this is where Maddow really beclowned herself.
Note the b-roll of protesters standing on the curb and not obstructing Florida traffic, as was the case in other states. In other words, doing exactly as they were told by Sheriff Ivey and Governor Ron DeSantis, among many others. People exercised their right to protest, largely without incident because clear boundaries were set. The facts, rather than validate Maddow’s rant, end up making her look like a fool. A fool who is the face of her soon-to-be-spun-off network.
We watched MSNBC so you don’t have to. Resist the urge to feel empathy for us, though. As Hyman Roth famously said to Don Michael Corleone: this is the business we’ve chosen.
