Joy Reid, the former MSNBC host who built a career lambasting President Donald Trump and his supporters, has stunned the political world by declaring herself a dyed-in-the-wool MAGA advocate. Reid’s abrupt ideological flip comes just days after her primetime show, The ReidOut, was axed by the network on February 23, amid a broader programming shakeup led by new president Rebecca Kutler.
Conservative influencers, often the target of Reid’s fiery on-air critiques, have responded by rolling out the red carpet for her, inviting her onto their platforms, and amplifying her newfound allegiance to America on X.
Reid’s show, which aired at 7 p.m. since 2020, was replaced with a new program featuring Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez, signaling the end of her decade-long tenure at MSNBC.
Her cancellation followed a steep drop in viewership after the November 2024 election, with reports indicating she lost nearly half her audience as Trump reclaimed the White House. Now, Reid is pivoting hard, claiming her years of anti-Trump rhetoric were a misunderstanding.
“I’ve always been about making America great,” Reid told The Washington Wick. “The media twisted my words, but I’m free now to speak my truth.”
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro wasted no time embracing the turncoat. “Joy’s seen the light, and we’re thrilled to have her on Team MAGA,” Shapiro said on his podcast Monday morning.
He promptly invited her to guest-star on The Ben Shapiro Show, promising a “no-holds-barred discussion” about her journey. Reid’s X post racked up thousands of retweets from right-wing accounts, with influencers like Ian Miles Cheong sharing it alongside a caption that read, “Better late than never, Joy. Welcome aboard.”
Not everyone is buying the sudden conversion. Reid’s history of calling Trump supporters “fascists” and railing against “white tears” on air has left some conservatives skeptical of her motives.
“This smells like a grift,” said Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce during a Monday segment. Bruce pointed to Reid’s cushy $1 million Maryland home and her fur-clad exit from it on February 24, suggesting she might be chasing relevance after her MSNBC ouster. “She’s not fooling anyone who’s paid attention,” Bruce added.
Meanwhile, MAGA diehards are eating it up. Influencer Tim Pool offered Reid a slot on his daily podcast. “Joy’s got the energy we need to keep winning,” Pool declared.
He even proposed a “MAGA makeover” segment where Reid could don a red hat and break down her favorite Trump policies. The enthusiasm has spilled onto X, where trending posts show Reid’s face photoshopped onto images of Trump rallies, complete with supportive comments from users who once vilified her.
The skepticism isn’t limited to the right. Former MSNBC colleague Keith Olbermann, who called Reid’s firing “racist” on February 24, suggested her MAGA turn is a desperate bid to stay in the spotlight.
“Joy’s not a conservative — she’s a survivor,” Olbermann said on his podcast. He argued that her exit from MSNBC, coupled with the network’s shift away from her brand of commentary, left her with no choice but to reinvent herself.
“This is performance art, not principle,” he concluded.
Reid herself seems unfazed by the doubters. Spotted leaving her Maryland home on Monday, she flashed a grin at photographers before hopping into a blue Subaru Outback.
She later posted to social media, “The left canceled me, but the right gets me. Time to build something new.”
Conservative influencers are already brainstorming collaborations, with some suggesting she launch a YouTube channel to chronicle her “redemption arc.”
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