NBC News announced that it decided to cut ties with former Republican National Committee chairwoman (RNC) Ronna McDaniel as an on-air contributor just two days after her Sunday debut on “Meet the Press.”
The network hired her nearly three weeks after she resigned from her top position at the RNC, sparking outrage among NBC and MSNBC pundits and other liberal talking heads. Executives are reportedly deliberating the details of tearing up her contract, and McDaniel is seeking legal representation, according to Puck News’ Dylan Byers.
“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, NBC News reported. “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.”
SCOOP @PuckNews: NBC NEWS plans to drop ex RNC-chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor following on-air revolt from NBC/MSNBC talent. Execs are deliberating over details; announcement pending. Meanwhile, McDaniel is seeking legal representation.
Full details, scoops &…
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) March 26, 2024
McDaniel made her debut appearance on “Meet the Press” with Kristen Welker Sunday, where she sparked outrage for arguing that President Joe Biden did not win the 2020 presidential election fairly. Welker also pressed her on why she just currently expressed her opposition to releasing violent prisoners present at the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. (RELATED: Trump-Endorsed Candidate Throws Hat In Ring To Succeed Ronna McDaniel As RNC Chair)
Liberals also expressed outrage over McDaniel allegedly engaging in a phone call urging Michigan election officials to not certify the votes cast in the Detroit area, according to CNN.
Longtime NBC News personality Chuck Todd said it can never be certain if McDaniel is sincere as she allegedly changes her views. He called on executives at NBC News to apologize to Welker for booking an interview with McDaniel.
“I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation because I don’t know what to believe. She is now a paid contributor by NBC News,” Todd told Welker. “I have no idea whether any answer she gave to you was because she didn’t want to mess up her contract. She wants us to believe that she was speaking for the RNC when the RNC was paying for it. So, she has credibility issues that she still has to deal with.”
MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski urged NBC News to “reconsider its decision” to hire McDaniel over her remarks on the 2020 election, and vowed that she will never be invited as a guest on “Morning Joe.” “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin echoed Brzezinski’s remarks, calling NBC’s decision to hire McDaniel “despicable.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that journalists have a duty to protect democracy by “making sure the public knows the truth” in reference to McDaniel’s remarks about the Capitol riot.
“And the facts and the truth are critical here. I’m not gonna make any comments on that person — on a personnel decision, but as more broadly speaking, it is important. It is a burden on all of us here, right, to be really mindful about that and that the public understands what the facts are and what the truth is,” she said.
Former President Donald Trump mocked McDaniel’s swift departure from the network.
“Wow! Ronna McDaniel got fired by Fake News NBC. She only lasted two days, and this after McDaniel went out of her way to say what they wanted to hear,” Trump wrote on Truth Social late Tuesday. “It leaves her in a very strange place, it’s called NEVER NEVERLAND, and it’s not a place you want to be. These Radical Left Lunatics are CRAZY, and the top people at NBC ARE WEAK. They were BROKEN and EMBARRASSED by LOW RATINGS, HIGHLY OVERPAID, “TALENT.” BRING BACK FREE AND FAIR PRESS – MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN 2024!”
McDaniel served as the RNC chair since 2016 and won her fourth term against her running mates, attorney Harmeet Dhillon and entrepreneur Mike Lindell, in January 2023. Prominent Republicans and many within the RNC grew weary of her leadership when the party failed to reach the expected “red wave” in the 2022 midterm elections.
The organization held only $9.1 million in November, the lowest amount of cash on hand since 2015, according to the Washington Post.