MSNBC host Jen Psaki faced widespread criticism on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, after dedicating a segment to online speculation about President Donald Trump’s health and suggesting he had been “hiding” from the public during the Labor Day weekend.
During her show, “The Briefing with Jen Psaki,” the former Biden press secretary questioned why Trump had maintained a relatively quiet public schedule over the holiday weekend. Psaki stated: “We may never know why Donald Trump suddenly spent a week hiding entirely from the American public.”
The segment addressed social media rumors that had circulated over the Labor Day weekend about Trump’s health and well-being, sparked by his absence from public events and photos showing what appeared to be a bruise on his hand. When Trump emerged Tuesday for an Oval Office event, Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked about the speculation.
Trump dismissed the rumors, telling reporters he had been “very active over the weekend” and claimed he had not seen the online speculation. He pointed out that his predecessor frequently went days without public appearances without generating similar concerns, noting Biden “wasn’t in the greatest shape.”
Psaki suggested Trump’s response seemed inconsistent, noting that he initially claimed not to have heard about the rumors but later acknowledged hearing “reports” about speculation regarding his health. She argued that Trump, who is known for his frequent social media presence, would likely have been aware of the widespread online discussions.
The MSNBC host suggested several possible explanations for Trump’s reduced public presence, including unfavorable polling data and his association with Jeffrey Epstein. She referenced a Wall Street Journal poll showing that only 25 percent of Americans believe they have a good chance of improving their standard of living, marking a nearly four-decade low.
Critics quickly denounced Psaki’s commentary, pointing to her previous role as Biden’s press secretary and her defense of the former president’s cognitive abilities. Conservative activist Greg Price wrote on social media that Psaki was claiming Trump was hiding something about his health because he took a few days off during a holiday weekend, while she had served as Biden’s press secretary.
Rhode Island state representative Brian Newberry criticized what he called Psaki’s “unmitigated gall,” questioning her journalistic credentials. Other commentators also noted the irony of Psaki questioning a president’s health after her previous role defending Biden.
Psaki had previously maintained she never witnessed signs of Biden’s cognitive decline during her tenure as press secretary from 2021 to 2022. In May 2025, she claimed she never saw the version of Biden that appeared during his disastrous June 2024 debate with Trump, despite being in the Oval Office daily during her White House service.
The controversy comes as MSNBC faces significant changes following its spinoff from NBCUniversal. The network, which will be renamed MS NOW, must now hire its own reporters after relying on NBC News staff for decades. Psaki’s show has struggled with ratings, averaging 1.1 million viewers between May and June 2025, representing a 44 percent decrease from Rachel Maddow’s 1.8 million average.
Conservative journalist Charlie Harper noted that the new company managing the spun-off cable networks will need to decide whether Psaki’s programming fits with their mission, particularly as CNBC’s reputation could be affected by its association with the same ownership structure.
Trump has maintained a significantly more active press schedule compared to Biden during equivalent periods of their presidencies. By the end of June 2024, Biden had held 168 press conferences in total, while Trump spoke to journalists 129 times during just the first 100 days of his second term. Presidential scholar Martha Joynt Kumar noted that Trump’s interactions with the media were more frequent than any other president.
The incident highlights the ongoing tensions between Trump and MSNBC, with Psaki having previously admitted in April 2025 that the network’s coverage of Trump is “typically not going to be positive.” She acknowledged that MSNBC viewers expect critical coverage of the president and that the network operates under that understanding.