Stand up for the facts!
Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.
I would like to contribute
No, MSNBC didn’t announce Donald Trump won the 2020 election
If Your Time is short
- An MSNBC clip was mischaracterized as evidence that the network announced Donald Trump won the 2020 election. A guest who was a former Trump aide made the claim, and the show’s host called it false.
The title of a recent, widely viewed Facebook video makes an unlikely claim: "MSNBC announced Trump won 2020 election."
It’s wrong.
This Feb. 8 post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
In the nearly 11-minute long video, MSNBC is mentioned once.
"MSNBC announced — had somebody, a guest on, and in that conversation it came out that the 2020 election was stolen from President Trump and that he won," a woman says. "And I have a clip of that."
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
A clip is then played in which a man says: "Ari, my statement stands for itself. I'm happy to provide evidence of the overwhelming fraud that happened in the 2020 election to you, to the committee, to Democrats, to RINOs, to anybody out there. This election was stolen from President Trump. President Trump won the 2020 election."
We found the MSNBC show that the clip comes from. It was a Jan. 21 episode of "The Beat with Ari Melber." The man speaking was one of his guests, Boris Epshteyn, a former aide to then-President Donald Trump.
But in the original episode, Melber, the host of the MSNBC show, quickly pushed back against that claim — a moment omitted from the Facebook video.
Featured Fact-check
"So in the vein of that false claim, I want to show you some of what you and…" Melber said in the show before he was interrupted by Epshteyn.
"False according to you," Epshteyn said.
"Well, the Supreme Court," Melber said. "The results. You’re aware that President Biden is in the White House."
He is. He won the 2020 presidential election. And MSNBC did not report otherwise.
We rate this post Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
Facebook post, Feb. 8, 2022
MSNBC, Transcript: The Beat with Ari Melber, Jan. 21, 2022
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Ciara O'Rourke
No, MSNBC didn’t announce Donald Trump won the 2020 election
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.