- Written by Sam Cabral
- BBC News, Washington
image source, Getty Images
NBC News reverses course four days after announcing it has hired Ronna McDaniel as a paid political analyst
NBC News has reversed its hiring policy on former Republican leader Ronna McDaniel following an internal revolt among the network’s top stars.
McDaniel had been chairman of the Republican National Committee since 2017, but was replaced this month at the request of supporters of Donald Trump.
NBC announced Friday that it has hired the 51-year-old as its newest paid contributor to its political coverage.
Network executives later apologized to staff for the decision.
In an internal email to NBC employees announcing the retraction seen by the BBC, NBCUniversal chairman Cesar Conde apologized to “any team members we felt we had let down.”
“Our initial decision was driven by a deep commitment to presenting a broad and diverse range of perspectives and experiences to our viewers, especially at this critical time,” Condé’s statement said.
The uprising began Sunday, shortly after McDaniel debuted in his new role on the popular weekend political show “Meet the Press.”
During the interview, anchor Kristen Welker squarely challenged Trump for repeating his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
Although McDaniel believes “2020 was problematic,” he nevertheless offered a conciliatory response, insisting that Joe Biden won “fairly and squarely.”
Shortly after the interview, former Meet the Press anchor Chuck Todd told his successor Welker on the air: “I think our boss owes you an apology for putting you in this situation.”
He said “she still has credibility issues that need to be addressed” and claimed the interview “did a good job of revealing a number of contradictions”.
Other on-air talent is also asking the network to reconsider its move.
Rachel Maddow, host of MSNBC’s most-watched show, called McDaniel’s hiring “baffling.”
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, hosts of Morning Joe, a morning show popular among Washington, D.C. insiders and watched daily by President Biden, weighed in on the decision. He told Network Star that he was “inundated with calls.”
McDaniel, the niece of anti-Trump Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, was appointed by Trump to chair the Republican National Committee (RNC) in 2017 after serving as the Michigan Republican Party chairman.
But she has lost support in recent months, citing the party’s poor performance in recent elections and poor fundraising.
This month, he was replaced at the RNC by North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley, who was joined by Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, as co-chairman.
The backlash to McDaniel’s hiring illustrates the struggle facing news organizations trying to navigate the partisan era of American politics.
It’s not uncommon for major networks to hire former political bureaucrats as analysts.
Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele is a political analyst for MSNBC, and the show will be hosted by Biden’s former White House press secretary Jen Psaki and former President Bush communications director Nicole Wallace.
