Even though it was on November 17 that 26-year-old Bethany MaGee was lit on fire while riding a Chicago subway train in an unprovoked attack, NBC had been silent (along with CBS) about this heinous crime on its flagship morning and evening newscasts.
That ended Tuesday when NBC Nightly News brought it up, but only because President Trump mentioned it hours earlier at the annual presidential turkey pardoning.
As our Jorge Bonilla has repeatedly mentioned (such as here on the NewsBusters podcast), one could call this a “Trumpwashing” in which the liberal, elitist media cover a story they had been ignoring, but only to bash President Trump’s response to said story.
Classic case of Trumpwashing -- NBC had completely ignored Chicago woman Bethany MaGee being burned alive on a train by a man with 72 prior arrests on 'Today and 'Nighty News'....until last night.
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 26, 2025
Why? Because President Trump brought it up at the turkey pardon, "a typically… pic.twitter.com/OLzEvAnt8O
Here, longtime NBC correspondent Kelly O’Donnell tacked the attack on MaGee – which has left her with life-threatening injuries – to the end of a segment about the administration’s condemnations of six congressional Democrats for creating a video encouraging members of the military to openly defy the President if they feel as though they had been given an illegal order.
“Separately, partisanship made its way into a typically politics-free tradition,” O’Donnell griped, referring to the turkey pardon with Trump “again pressuring Democratic leadership over crime in Illinois.”
“He brought up the horrific attack caught on video last week where a woman, now identified as 26-year-old Bethany MaGee, was set on fire on a train by a repeat offender,” O’Donnell explained.
O’Donnell ran another Trump soundbite in which the President emphasized the suspect had been “arrested 72 times” before allegedly “burned this beautiful woman riding in a train.”
Like a good liberal journalist, O’Donnell made sure to paint Chicago Democrats as in control of the situation with a bite from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) lamenting “[t]his is an absolute failure of our criminal gist as well as our mental health institutions.”
Tossing back to anchor Tom Llamas, O’Donnell said “Bethany MaGee’s family call[ed] her a gentle spirit with a long road ahead to recover.”
To see the relevant NBC transcript from November 25, click “expand.”
NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas
November 25, 2025
6:36 p.m. EasternKELLY O’DONNELL: Separately, partisanship made its way into a typically politics-free tradition.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Gobble and waddle.
O’DONNELL: – the Turkey pardon. The President again pressuring Democratic leadership over crime in Illinois.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Breaking News; Trump Highlights Horrific Chicago Train Attack]
TRUMP: We’ve been moving towards Chicago.
O’DONNELL: He brought up the horrific attack caught on video last week where a woman, now identified as 26-year-old Bethany MaGee, was set on fire on a train by a repeat offender.
TRUMP: They burned this beautiful woman riding in a train. A man was arrested 72 times. 72 times.
CHICAGO MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON (D): This is an absolute failure of our criminal gist as well as our mental health institutions.
O’DONNELL: Bethany MaGee’s family calling her a gentle spirit with a long road ahead to recover.
