NBC recently announced the hiring of Ronna McDaniel, former chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), as a political analyst for the 2024 election cycle. However, just days later, the media company contractually separated from the Republican after a torrent of on-air backlash from the channel's most well-known commentators.
Cesar Conde, president of NBC Universal News Group, wrote a message for his employees explaining the initial hiring and subsequent firing.
He first clarified that the decision to add McDaniel "was made 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," he added.
"No organization, particularly a newsroom, can succeed unless it is cohesive and aligned. Over the last few days, it has become clear that this appointment undermines that goal. (...) After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor," he stated.
The decision came after days of turbulence at the network, as its leading commentators lashed out on-air, criticizing the hiring of McDaniel as a political analyst, in a six-figure-a-year deal.
One of the deal's detractors was Chuck Todd, who cited "credibility issues" and criticized the Republican for her relationship with the press during her time at the RNC. Speaking on-air, he said that the company's bosses should apologize to Kristen Welker for not having notified her that McDaniel had already been hired prior to her interview. "I have no idea whether any answer she gave to you was because she didn't want to mess up her contract," he said.
WATCH: Chuck Todd just attacked his own network, NBC News, over hiring Ronna McDaniel. "Our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation," he told Kristen Welker on Meet the Press. "There's a reason why there's a lot of journalists at NBC News uncomfortable with… pic.twitter.com/gjjhy7s4TN
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) March 24, 2024
"The issue isn’t about ideology, it’s about basic truth. Those trying to make this a left-right issue are being intentionally dishonest. This is about whether honest journalists are supposed to lend their credibility to someone who intentionally tried to ruin ours," Todd added on his social media.
Another of the channel's figures who spoke about the matter was Rachel Maddow, who also spoke out on-air about the situation.
Rachel Maddow tells viewers on Ronna McDaniel hiring: "The leadership did not object to Ronna McDaniel being hired when the matter first arose, but when the hiring was announced/ MSNBC staff essentially unanimously and instantly expressed outrage."#Maddow pic.twitter.com/dg7W718Txl
— Lebang Moloi (@lebang_moloi) March 26, 2024
"If you care what I think about this, [...] the fact that Ms. McDaniel is on the payroll at NBC News — to me that is inexplicable. You wouldn’t hire a wise guy, a made man like a mobster, to work in a DA’s office. You wouldn’t hire a pickpocket to work as a TSA screener. And so, I find the decision to put her on the payroll inexplicable," she said.
"And it’s not about Democratic party, Republican party, it’s not about partisanship or right versus left. It’s about our system of government and undermining elections and going after democracy," she added.
It's unclear if this is the final chapter in the romance between NBC and McDaniel, as Axios reported Tuesday that the Republican was exploring legal options should the network terminate her agreement.
Donald Trump's reaction
It took the former president just hours to express himself on McDaniel's untimely departure from NBC and he did so via Truth Social.
"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 his Truth Social website on Tuesday. “It leaves her in a very strange place, it’s called NEVER NEVERLAND, and it’s not a place you want to be," the Republican posted.
