At the Status Summit earlier this month, before MS NOW, along with CNN and Politico, were barred from White House grounds, MS NOW President Rebbeca Kutler was asked by Status’ liberal chief Olivier Darcy if she viewed MS NOW as a “progressive network” after she previously described it as “pro-democracy.” She denied the network was progressive and cited noted anti-Trump hosts Michael Steele and Nicole Wallace as her evidence.
Later in the sit-down with Darcy and Natalie Korach, Kutler denied the network had blacklisted far-left terrorist sympathizer streamer Hasan Piker from appearing on the channel, along with Democrat Senator John Fetterman, who claimed he was also blakclsited earlier in the summer.
Near the close of a discussion on the future of linear TV and MS NOW’s new membership service, which includes meditation services through the Calm app to help its liberal viewers get through the news of the day, Darcy asked, “Do you view yourself as a progressive network?
At a ‘Status’ event earlier this month, MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler was asked, “Do you view yourself as a progressive network?” Kutler previously stated in the prolonged interview that MS NOW was a “pro-democracy” network.
Kutler’s response said the network employs former… pic.twitter.com/WEvSgT7X6n— Nick (@nspin310) September 23, 2026
He then continued, noting Kutler calling the network “pro-Democracy” earlier:
Or do you think you're a pro-democracy network at this point, and it's not about necessarily whether you agree on higher taxes for the rich but more do you believe in, you know, a independent Department of Justice?
In response to being labeled a “progressive” outlet by a person who constantly, and falsely, insists CBS is a pro-Trump network now, Kutler mentioned two anti-Trump hosts who used to work for Republicans: “Yeah, we're a network that one of our main voices on election night is the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, okay? Another one of our main voices was the communications director in George W. Bush's White House.”
In August, the former chairman of the RNC she referred to, Michael Steele, now hosts shows that claim Republicans want a “return to Jim Crow.”
Just on Monday, on the show hosted by the former communications director of the Bush White House, Nicolle Wallace, MS NOW legal analyst Andrew Weissman compared the Trump administration barring MS NOW, CNN, and Politico from White House grounds to 1930s Nazi Germany.
But nevertheless, she continued, “So, I think sometimes there's assumptions made about who we are and how we show up that are actually quite different than how we operate in reality. “
She closed, “I got into this business 'cause I love politics and I love election night and I think we're just a really fun, interesting place to watch election night and I know for a fact that there are people, there are Republicans and independents who watch us on election night. So I think our audience is broader sometimes than the perceptions.”
Later, Darcy asked the President of MS NOW if far-left Twitch streamer Hasan Piker was blacklisted from the cable network.
Kutler claimed there was no ban, as she dodged most of the question and turned it into how she was “really proud” that people like Piker and Sen. John… https://t.co/J9spFfnD1T pic.twitter.com/CvOj8hIsyf— Nick (@nspin310) September 23, 2026
Later in the summit interview, Kutler was asked if Hasan Piker was banned from appearing on MS NOW.
Darcy first stated, “The one new question that we were curious about is there's a guy named Hasan Piker. He's been talked about quite a bit these days, in particularly progressive circles and spaces, but he doesn't appear on MS.” he then asked, “Is he a welcome guest on MS?”
Kutler’s response claimed there was no blacklist of Piker, as she mostly dodged the focus on Piker and shifted to claim, “A lot of people want to be on MS NOW, that's actually something that we're really proud of,” as she mentioned John Fetterman’s claim of being blacklisted:
Yeah, so I understand that Mr. Piker would like to be on MS NOW. There's no bans or blacklists or whatever is out there in the internet world that claims exist. A lot of people want to be on MS NOW, that's actually something that we're really proud of. A few weeks ago, Senator John Fetterman was making a lot of noise.
Darcy then joked, “You should have Fetterman on with Hasan Piker," which was met with audience laughter. Kutler responded, “That's some programming.”
Back in July, after Fetterman claimed he was blacklisted, MS NOW PR laughably responded with months-old screenshots of Fetterman's appearance. He last appeared on the channel on March 4th.
Unlike Kutler’s claims, MS NOW has recently turned into more of an avid pro-DNC, pro-progressive network in the past year, especially after its split with NBC in the Versant divorce. Whether it’s Katy Tur’s daytime show turning into a progressive talk show or Rachel Maddow promoting ‘No Kings’ protests, MS NOW has clearly become a progressive network.
The transcript is below. Click "expand":
Status Summit: Interview with MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler
Timestamp: 00:27:36-00:29:29
OLIVER DARCY: Do you view yourself as a progressive network? You keep saying pro-democracy. Or do you think you're a pro-democracy network at this point and it's not about necessarily whether you agree on higher taxes for the rich but more do you believe in a independent Department of Justice?
REBECCA KUTLER: Yeah, we're a network that one of our main voices on election night is the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, okay? Another one of our main voices was the communications director in George W. Bush's White House. So, I think sometimes there's assumptions made about who we are and how we show up that are actually quite different than how we operate in reality.
One of my frustrations, sometimes, is in rooms like this, I wish this wasn't true, but not everyone here is a regular watcher of MS. You might have never watched MS or you might watch us once in a blue moon and what we're excited about this D to C product is the audience that we know, the millions and millions of people who have made us the number two most watched at work in all of cable, we're building a home for them and then we're growing that home for an even wider audience.
So, I think that some of these delineations and lines aren't actually super relevant to our audience who's just coming, I got into this business 'cause I love politics and I love election night and I think we're just a really fun, interesting place to watch election night and I know for a fact that there are people, there are Republicans and independents who watch us on election night. So I think our audience is broader sometimes than the perceptions.
(...)
Timestamp: 00:31:43-0033:23
OLIVER DARCY: The one new question that we were curious about is there's a guy named Hasan Piker, he's been talked about quite a bit days, in particularly progressive circles and spaces, but he doesn't appear on MS. I don't know if he - Has he ever appeared on MS, I'm not really sure, but it doesn't seem like he has. Is he a welcome guest on MS? What's your perspective on this? He was on Fox News recently, and it's like, why is he on Fox News, but not having this conversation about where the Democratic Party is heading on the network that I think a lot of people, a lot of Democrats particularly do watch for that conversation.
REBECCA KUTLER: Yeah, so I understand that Mr. Piker would like to be on MS NOW. There's no bands or blacklists or whatever is out there in the internet world that claims exist.
A lot of people want to be on MS NOW, that's actually something that we're really proud of. A few weeks ago, Senator John Fetterman was making a lot of noise -
DARCY: He was. You should have Fetterman on with Hasan Piker
[Laughter]
That’s good TV
KUTLER: That's some programming.
So look, a lot of people would like to be on MS NOW. That is a great place for us. That's a great place to be. We're really, really proud of that audience. The job of our team every day, of our anchors, of our hosts, is to wake up and say, what can we create for TV, for digital, for audio, that brings the most value to our audience? What is our audience looking to learn? What kind of journalism will benefit them? And that's the job we have every single morning, and our job is to do that and deliver for our audience.
(...)
