Dad Of Cancer Survivor Celebrated By Trump Tells Rachel Maddow To 'Shut Her Mouth'

The MSNBC host's ill-advised take after Trump honored 13-year-old DJ Daniel during his speech ticked off the lad's father.

The father of a young cancer survivor honored by President Donald Trump in his speech lashed out at MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow for her negative observation.

“She needs to shut her mouth if she has nothing nice to say,” Theodis Daniel told the New York Post on Wednesday.

After announcing his intent to institute a mandatory death penalty for “anyone who murders a police officer” during his address to Congress, the president called out 13-year-old DJ Daniel in the audience. He spoke of the lad’s love of law enforcement and his diagnosis of brain cancer at age 6, then had him made an honorary Secret Service agent to the cheers of many in the chamber.

Maddow delivered a slew of fact-checks after Trump’s 1-hour, 40-minute ramble, then veered into no-win territory.

“For the record, and this is disgusting, the president made a spectacle out of praising a young man who has thus far survived pediatric cancer,” she said. “As if the president had something to do with that, which was in the midst of him praising DOGE. DOGE cuts, among some other things, have cut off funding for ongoing research into pediatric cancer.” (Advance to the 2:18 mark below for the comment.)