Before MSNBC transforms into MS Now at midnight on Saturday, The 11th Hour host Stephanie Ruhle joined ESPN and SiriusXM host Stephen A. Smith on Thursday for his Straight Shooter podcast. Once there, Ruhle offered up an unconvincing excuse for why she does not have Republican guests on her show.
What made Ruhle’s response even more strange was that Smith didn’t even ask about guests. Instead, he simply wondered, “What role is Stephanie Ruhle going to play? In bringing attention to these issues and making sure these issues are addressed in a manner in which it deserves as a member of the media, as a member of MS Now moving forward.”
Ruhle tried to explain, “It is my job, thank you, not to bring on spokespeople, not to bring on talking heads or pundits. I will tell you, and it’s a big frustration for me. I would love to have more Republicans on my air. And I think, unfortunately, right now, this moment that we’re in. Republicans who will come on TV and be critical of this president for any reasons get annihilated if they’re critical of him. The White House kills them, and then the group who will come on for the sole purpose of ‘owning the libs’ or performing for the president.”
First of all, Ruhle has liberal talking heads and pundits on all the time. Second of all, Ruhle created a false dichotomy for Republicans: you either condemn President Trump or you’re just a troll who is interested in owning the libs. In reality, there are plenty of conservative commentators or Republican politicians whom Ruhle could invite on to give serious and thoughtful responses to the day’s events. The problem is Ruhle doesn’t like those Republicans either.
Nevertheless, Ruhle rolled right along, “I want to be clear, nobody is invited on my program who wants to own anybody, right? This ain’t the NBA. Nobody is here to slam dunk anyone. I’m gonna take the most important news stories with the best reporters and explain them on our air, and then I’m gonna bring on the best analysts to analyze it with the goal every night, how do we help people get better and smarter, and if I can do that for one hour a day, that’s a win for me.”
Unless they’re a liberal, then they can do all the dunking they desire.
Here is a transcript for the November 13 show:
Straight Shooter with Stephen A.
11/13/2025
STEPHEN A. SMITH: What role is Stephanie Ruhle going to play? In bringing attention to these issues and making sure these issues are addressed in a manner in which it deserves as a member of the media, as a member of MS Now moving forward.
STEPHANIE RUHLE: It is my job, thank you, not to bring on spokespeople, not to bring on talking heads or pundits. I will tell you, and it’s a big frustration for me. I would love to have more Republicans on my air. And I think, unfortunately, right now, this moment that we’re in. Republicans who will come on TV and be critical of this president for any reasons get annihilated if they’re critical of him. The White House kills them, and then the group who will come on for the sole purpose of “owning the libs” or performing for the president.
I want to be clear, nobody is invited on my program who wants to own anybody, right? This ain’t the NBA. Nobody is here to slam dunk anyone. I’m gonna take the most important news stories with the best reporters and explain them on our air, and then I’m gonna bring on the best analysts to analyze it with the goal every night, how do we help people get better and smarter, and if I can do that for one hour a day, that’s a win for me.
