He has found a unique role as the go-to anchor on MSNBC, as other programs have struggled to break out of the post- Trump slump that has tanked ratings and left some shows straining to find the urgency that drove programming during the previous administration. O'Donnell has been one of the White House's only go-to news anchors and has been granted rare on-camera access, thanks to his decades-long relationship with President Joe Biden and his chief of staff. He hasn't been able to save his ratings from going down. O'Donnell has become a point of continuity with Rachel Maddow taking a step back from her daily hosting duties at 9 p.m. and Brian Williams leaving the network this year.
O'Donnell's success in the age of Biden makes sense. Over the past year, O'Donnell has been one of Biden's most ardent cheerleaders, constantly defending his White House against criticism in the media and making sweeping declarations about the greatness of the administration. He said the president's speech on the U.S. military departure from Afghanistan was the smartest and most honest address by a president on the subject, uncritically praised the state of the economy under Biden.
The president has been mirrored by cable hosts as closely as he has.
Both O'Donnell and Biden are white male septuagenarians with institutional ties to the U.S. Senate. O'Donnell met Biden in the 1990s when he was a legislative aide for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. O'Donnell used his Biden connections as he rose through the ranks as a guest and later host on MSNBC, after burningishing his institutionalist credentials as a writer and actor on the West Wing. Biden was the main guest when he became a full-time host on MSNBC.
Eric Swalwell, a frequent guest on O'Donnell's show, said that Biden is a professor and Lawrence is a student. The value that has come through in the last year is the fact that you have a shepherd who knows what he is talking about.
When the former vice president launched his third bid for president, his team was not lost on the connection.
While candidates vied for prime territory on Maddow's highly-rated MSNBC show, Biden repeatedly rejected interview requests from her team. He was the only one who never appeared on her show or that of her lead-in anchor. One former campaign official said that the network didn't show those programs because they were afraid of being hammered from the left.
Biden chose to speak with Morning Joe and the 9 a.m. show. When he wanted to appear on MSNBC's more highly-rated prime-time programming, he chose O'Donnell, whom multiple former Biden campaign staffers said he favored because of their personal relationship and belief that their mutually-shared time in Congress made for a less potentially contentious interview.
A former campaign official said that Lawrence's knowledge of policy as a former Senate aide helped establish a good relationship between him and the president.
MSNBC has not been given the same level of access or attention as Fox News, which was the main conduit for the former administration and farm system. The only interview the president has given on MSNBC while in office was a 20-minute sit-down with O'Donnell.
One of the president's top advisers has O'Donnell's ear.
After the emergence of Covid-19 in 2020, he became a ubiquitous presence across MSNBC, offering insights and commentary from his time as the Obama administration's "Ebola czar."
The anchor who benefited most was O'Donnell, who was an aide to both Biden and Moynihan. O'Donnell invited him on his show as a guest before the Covid pandemic made him a cable news star. O'Donnell's program often had Klain on it.
The relationship paid off after the election.
O'Donnell was the first interview that Klain had after being named White House chief of staff. He had his first interview as chief of staff. He looked at the White House's accomplishments with O'Donnell on the 100 day anniversary of the administration. After signing the infrastructure bill earlier this year, the first media appearance Biden participated in was with O'Donnell.
"This is going to be an important time for him, but I thought about him as a very important player at MSNBC for a long time," said Laurence Tribe, the famed Harvard law professor and regular Last Word guest. He knows more about the Senate than anyone else.
The White House, O'Donnell, and Klain all declined to comment.
O'Donnell is still suffering from the ratings troubles afflicting cable news networks. The Last Word ratings have mirrored the decline in cable news as he trails Fox News' Laura Ingraham. Maddow was better than O'Donnell on his own network.
O'Donnell has been seen as a second string player. He cut his teeth in the TV business after his time in the Senate, but he is not one of MSNBC's most recognizable stars. Nicole Wallace had the highest number of total daytime viewers in cable news during the year, and the network brass was enamored with her.
O'Donnell never developed a cultish audience like Maddow did. His show was not on in the Senate gym like Morning Joe, and it never caught fire like the one hosted by Olbermann.
A few years ago, his status seemed to be in danger of being taken away from him.
The Huffington Post reported that O'Donnell had just weeks left on his contract and few signs of interest from the network. O'Donnell was liked by company higher-ups, including NBC News Chair Andy Lack, and had posted solid ratings after Maddow. Executives were unsure if he was responsible for his own success or if he was just drafting off Maddow's ratings. The network initially objected to his salary demands and suggested moving his program to an earlier time slot, which O'Donnell was upset about. His public pleas for his viewers to tune in seemed to work in his favor during negotiations, and he signed a multi-year deal in 2017:
They were aware of possible changes to the prime-time lineup when there was a change in MSNBC leadership. They took a less aggressive approach this year when O'Donnell was up for a new contract. Sources familiar with the details of the negotiations said that while Williams' departure took some network executives by surprise, NBCUniversal Chair Cesar Conde and MSNBC network President Rashida Jones were aware of the looming Maddow contract negotiations, and seemed intent on re-signing O'Donnell amid the other potential major changes
It is an about-face from O'Donnell's relationship with the previous occupant of the White House, who fostered a years-long grudge against the MSNBC host. After he called for NBC to cut ties with the then-reality television star, Trump repeatedly urged former MSNBC head Phil Griffin to fire O'Donnell, telling him that he was a third-rate anchor.
O'Donnell is the steady ship in a network and industry that is experiencing its fair share of turbulence.
