Ronna McDaniel’s tenure at NBC News was brief, but eventful — for all the wrong reasons.
NBC News severed ties with McDaniel, the former Republican National Committee chairwoman, after outrage from its onscreen talent, according to NBC News.
Her employment there lasted five days, Fox News reported.
“There is no doubt that the last several days have been difficult for the News Group. After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor,” NBCUniversal Group Chairman Cesar Conde said in an email to staff Tuesday.
Conde wrote, “I want to personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down. While this was a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team, I approved it and take full responsibility for it.”
Conde said McDaniel was hired “because of our deep commitment to presenting our audiences with a widely diverse set of viewpoints and experiences, particularly during these consequential times. We continue to be committed to the principle that we must have diverse viewpoints on our programs, and to that end, we will redouble our efforts to seek voices that represent different parts of the political spectrum.”
But her actions with the RNC were fresh in her potential co-workers’ minds and they cited a lack of credibility. One example was based on a report by The Detroit News of her backing former President Donald Trump’s assertion that he actually won the 2020 presidential election.
After her appearance on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Sunday when she discussed a report in The Detroit News that had her on a call with Trump pressuring GOP canvassers in Michigan to not certify the election results, NBC News reported, NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd said on the broadcast that “she has credibility issues that she still has to deal with.”
Todd also put his feelings on X, formerly Twitter.
However, he was called out on Fox News when contributor Mollie Hemingway said, “Chuck Todd has pushed the Russia collusion hoax for years. He has NEGATIVE credibility. This is hilarious.”
Chuck Todd has pushed the Russia collusion hoax for years. He has NEGATIVE credibility. This is hilarious. https://t.co/YjhCbdZAZq
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) March 26, 2024
Over on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow voiced her opinion Monday.
“I find the decision to put her on the payroll inexplicable, and I hope they will reconsider that decision,” Maddow said.
On Monday, “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski agreed with balanced election coverage, but she disagreed with hiring McDaniel, “who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier.”
As Fox News reported, there was not as much outrage when MSNBC hired former Biden-Harris administration officials Symone Sanders and Jen Psaki.
“They weren’t just hired as mere analysts like McDaniel, they were both given their own shows,” per Fox News, adding, “Countless Democratic strategists and left-wing journalists from other legacy news organizations have long found a home as paid contributors on MSNBC.
The outlet also wrote, “The network also has a slew of so-called ‘conservative’ commentators who purportedly bring ideological diversity to the network but in reality sing from the same sheet of music as their liberal counterparts in bashing former President Trump and Republicans broadly.”
