Last night on MS NOWs The Last Word, Lawrence O’Donnell opened his show not with a major news development, not with reporting, and not with analysis — but with a monologue focused on President Donald Trump’s hands and penis size. That was his editorial choice. That was what he decided was worthy of leading a national “news” program.
Even for an opinion show, the opening segment sets the tone for what the host thinks matters. O’Donnell chose to lead his show by talking about Trump’s fingers and penis, replaying footage from a 2016 debate with Marco Rubio.
O’Donnell’s monologue centered on President Trump’s gesture toward an auto worker at a Ford plant, which he framed as historically obscene, using it as a springboard to revisit Trump’s hands and comments from the 2016 campaign.
He worked to portray labor unions and their workers as noble and innocent, occupying the moral high ground against Trump. But that image is carefully constructed — and misleading.
Labor unions are not fragile victims. They are political machines with a long history of thuggery, intimidation, and coercion. They harass workers who refuse to join. They lack respect. They threaten businesses that won’t comply. They block access, shut down operations, smear opponents, and punish dissent. The UAW — which represents workers at Ford and the other Big Three automakers — spends millions of dollars on political activity each election cycle, overwhelmingly backing Democratic politicians and causes through its political action committee and broader political and lobbying efforts to exert significant influence over elections and policy.
Responding to a union member yelling at him with the middle finger is speaking their language.
And let’s be honest about presidential behavior. Barack Obama lowered the bar to the ground. He often conveyed contempt through middle fingers, gestures, smug expressions, and staged moments designed to send a message while maintaining plausible deniability. The difference with Trump isn’t the message; it’s that Trump doesn’t pretend.
O’Donnell didn’t just criticize a hand gesture. He reached back to the 2016 campaign and said:
“He became the first presidential candidate in history to decide to publicly defend the size of his penis after Marco Rubio had publicly made fun of Donald Trump’s fingers.”
That is what O’Donnell chose to elevate. That is what he chose to lead with.
What makes this especially striking is that none of this was new. O’Donnell was replaying words spoken during a presidential debate in 2016.
This wasn’t breaking news. It wasn’t even recent commentary. It was Lawrence O’Donnell opening a national television program by rehashing an old debate clip and spending his opening minutes talking about Donald Trump’s penis. That was his choice. That was what he decided mattered most.
And that says far more about Lawrence O’Donnell than it does about Donald Trump.
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