MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow said Wednesday that if former President Donald Trump is elected again, he would put the news station on trial and “execute us.”

“He wants to put MSNBC on trial for treason so that he can execute us,” Ms. Maddow said Wednesday on “The View.”

She was responding to co-host Sara Haines saying that Mr. Trump “wants to cancel the news, so they’re done.”

In September, Mr. Trump announced on Truth Social that if elected president, he would investigate Comcast, the parent company of NBC News and MSNBC, for their “Country Threatening Treason.”

“They are almost all dishonest and corrupt, but Comcast, with its one-side and vicious coverage by NBC News, and in particular MSNBC, often and correctly referred to as MSDNC (Democrat National Committee!), should be investigated for its ‘Country Threatening Treason,’” Mr. Trump wrote.

“I say up front, openly, and proudly that when I WIN the presidency of the United States, they and others of the LameStream Media will be thoroughly scrutinized for their knowingly dishonest and corrupt coverage of people, things, and events,” he said.

It wasn’t clear at the time who or what sparked the former president’s outrage, even though he was a guest on the outlet’s “Meet the Press” the week before with new host Kristen Welker.

Mr. Trump is known for bashing of the news media and often refers to any news outlet or story he disagrees with as “fake news.”

Ms. Maddow said that Mr. Trump is “basically portraying a future for America … in which we don’t have another election after that,” because he talks about how “the elections are all rigged, that the democratic process can’t be trusted.”

The former president is the lead Republican candidate for the 2024 election, and polls show him neck and neck with President Biden in a theoretical general election matchup. 

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.