By Molly Goddard
9:42am PST, Mar 7, 2025
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The father of
Devarjaye "DJ" Daniel isn't thrilled with
Rachel Maddow's comments about President
Donald Trump honoring his son.
During the commander-in-chief's Tuesday, March 4,
State of the Union address, Trump made the 13-year-old cancer survivor an honorary U.S. Secret Service agent. The MSNBC host later called the act of kindness from the nation's leader "disgusting."
Keep reading to see how the Daniels family responded to her remarks…
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"She needs to shut her mouth if she has nothing nice to say," Devarjaye "DJ" Daniel's father,
Theodis Daniel, told the
New York Post.
"This lady didn't even serve time in the military," he continued of Rachel Maddow. "I was on the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. She does not need to put her
bad energy on us."
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Rachel Maddow and fellow MSNBC anchor
Nicolle Wallace received backlash over their criticism of Donald Trump for highlighting Devarjaye "DJ" Daniel and his struggle.
"For the record — and this is disgusting — the president made a spectacle out of praising a young man who's thus far survived pediatric cancer — as if the president had something to do with that," the liberal news anchor said during the broadcast of
The Rachel Maddow Show that aired following the right-wing leader's speech.
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Nicolle Wallace even linked Devarjaye "DJ" Daniel's desire to join the police force to the
January 6 riots.
"I hope he's alive for another 95 years, and I hope he lives the life he wants to live. He wants to be a cop. He knows what he wants to do, and maybe when you have childhood cancer, that crystallizes for you," the former Republican said. Wallace then referenced the officers who defended the Capitol and later took their own lives due to the trauma: "I hope he has a long life as a law enforcement officer, but I hope he never has to defend the United States capitol against Donald Trump's supporters, and if he does, I hope he isn't one of the six who loses his life to suicide," she said.
(If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, know that help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.)
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"And I hope he isn't [a law enforcement officer] that has to testify against the people who carried out acts of seditious conspiracy and then lived to see Donald Trump pardon those people," Nicolle Wallace continued.
Despite the disapproval from the left, Devarjaye "DJ" Daniel's father, Theodis Daniel, praised Trump, First Lady
Melania Trump and DOGE specialist
Elon Musk for their hospitality.
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"We sat next to Mr. Elon. The first lady was in front of us, and [FBI Director] Kash Patel was at my son's right shoulder," Theodis Daniel recalled to the New York Post.
"The first lady was nice, sweet, down to earth. Mr. Elon shook hands with us," the proud dad gushed.
