NBC News announced that it was severing ties with former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel less than one week after it hired her as a contributor following very public pushback from the network’s on-air talent, the Associated Press reported.
In a March 26 memo to NBC News employees announcing the move, NBC Universal News Group Chair Cesar Conde acknowledged that he had signed off on McDaniel’s hiring and apologized to NBC News staff who objected to it.
Conde said that after announcing that McDaniel was joining the network, it became clear that her appointment undermined NBC’s goal of having a “cohesive and aligned” newsroom.
NBC announced on March 22 that the former RNC chair would be providing political commentary on its various network platforms, including NBC News and MSNBC. The network said it was bringing McDaniel on board to offer the perspective of someone with inside knowledge of the Trump campaign and the RNC in the election year.
The announcement was met with vocal pushback from NBC’s on-air personalities, including former “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd and MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough, Jen Psaki, Joy Reid, Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace, and Lawrence O’Donnell, who all accused McDaniel of perpetuating Donald Trump’s “Big Lie” about election fraud while echoing his attacks on the news media.
During the March 24 broadcast of “Meet the Press,” which featured an interview with McDaniel, Chuck Todd blasted NBC for hiring the former RNC Chair whom he accused of engaging in “gaslighting” and “character assassination” against NBC reporters during her time with the RNC.
A source close to McDaniel told the Associated Press that NBC News did not inform her directly that it was rescinding its offer. Instead, McDaniel learned that she was out from news reports.
The decision to drop McDaniel just days after hiring her set off a chain reaction that could prove messy in the long run. Following the decision, McDaniel was dropped by Creative Artists Agency, the talent agent she hired to negotiate the deal. McDaniel has reportedly consulted with attorneys since learning that NBC News rescinded its offer.
