After the end of his popular daytime talk show in 2023, Dr. Phil McGraw launched a right-wing media network, and a new report from Slate documents a network in chaos, with suspended programming and bankruptcy filings.

In the November 2023 press release announcing the launch of Merit Street Media, McGraw proclaimed that “American families and our core values are under attack.” The release also echoed many other gripes from now-President Donald Trump and other conservatives, such as the U.S. having “out-of-control immigration.”

Since the networks’ launch, Merit failed to attract viewers, averaging just 24,000 primetime viewers in 2024. In August of that year, the network laid off dozens of staffers. And that October, McGraw spoke at Trump’s racist rally at Madison Square Garden, promoting

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