It’s time to find out who had the Worst Media Quote of the Week. This interactive series is where you — our loyal NewsBusters visitors and MRC supporters — get to vote on which leftist journalist or celebrity had the worst media quote of the week.
Much appreciation to all who voted last week via NewsBusters and the MRC’s various social media sites (Facebook, Instagram and X.com).
The results of the Worst Media Quote of the Week are in and the winner is…
Keith Olbermann!
The former MSNBC/ESPN host won with 51 percent of the vote. Olbermann took first place for claiming Minneapolis protestor Alex Pretti was “murdered” by ICE “terrorists” as a warning to not thwart Donald Trump’s “dictatorship.” CBS’s The Late Show host Stephen Colbert in second place with 26 percent. Finishing last was singer Bruce Springsteen at 23 percent.
The following clip is MRC president David Bozell’s introduction of the nominees:
POLL: The Worst Media Quote of the Week, presented by @DavidBozell
Olbermann: Alex Pretti was murdered by ICE as a warning to not thwart Trump dictatorship
Colbert: ICE led to the darkness by Trump, at least Nazis showed their faces
Bruce Springsteen’s anti-Trump ballad pic.twitter.com/jpD3CPgsPD
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) January 30, 2026
WINNER (51 percent of the vote)
Keith Olbermann: Alex Pretti Was “Murdered” By ICE “Terrorists” as a Warning to Not Thwart “Trump Dictatorship”
“The Trump dictatorship and its terrorists, the paramilitary organization, the ‘Proud ICE Boys’ death squad, they murdered Alex Pretti, as a warning. That this is what they will continue to do if local leaders, like Minnesota’s governor, do not stop thwarting the Trump dictatorship….Support Trump or we will, well we will keep shooting your residents. Comply or your people will die.”
— Former MSNBC/ESPN host Keith Olbermann on his Countdown podcast, January 26.
SECOND PLACE (26 percent of the vote)
Stephen Colbert: ICE Agents “Led to the Darkness” By Trump, At Least Nazis Showed “Their Faces”
Host Stephen Colbert: “The only way they [ICE agents] could ever be considered in any way victims is that they are, at best, weak-minded individuals, full of anger, who have been led to the darkness by Donald Trump and are now participating in an evil system that will stick to them like hot black tar for the rest of their lives.”…
Clip of Greg Bovino: “Look, Dana, they’re trying to portray Border Patrol agents and ICE agents as Gestapo, Nazi, and many other words.”
Colbert: “Yes, do not compare ICE or Border Patrol agents to the Nazis. That’s an unfair comparison. The Nazis were willing to show their faces.”
— CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, January 26.
THIRD PLACE (23 percent of the vote)
Bruce Springsteen’s Anti-Trump Ballad
Through the winter’s ice and cold
Down Nicollet Avenue
A city aflame fought fire and ice
‘Neath an occupier’s boots
King Trump’s private army from the DHS
Guns belted to their coats
Came to Minneapolis to enforce the law
Or so their story goes
…
Now they say they’re here to uphold the law
But they trample on our rights
If your skin is black or brown my friend
You can be questioned or deported on sight
— Lyrics to Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets Of Minneapolis,” released on January 28.
Thanks again to all who participated!
Sponsored by James P. Jimirro
