The signing of Ronna McDaniel, former president of the Republican National Committee (RNC), as an NBC network analyst has caused an earthquake among the station's workers, especially among the heavyweights, and the audience, who called for a boycott to the Meet The Press program where she was interviewed. The show's own presenter, Kristen Welker, wanted to make it clear before starting the interview that she had had nothing to do with hiring McDaniel as a collaborator. During the broadcast, McDaniel exhibited very different opinions than those she held just a few days ago, going so far as to point out that Joe Biden won the 2020 elections "fair and square."
"I was not involved in her hiring" -- Kristen Welker makes sure to point out to viewers that she had nothing to do with NBC hiring Ronna McDaniel
(lol you can tell it's going well when a host has to say this) pic.twitter.com/WKXMvTmg7J
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 24, 2024
The presenter emphasizes that she had nothing to do with the hiring
Since it became known that the former president of the RNC was going to be interviewed on the network, the network was inundated with messages calling for a boycott of the interview. The hashtag #NoRonna received significant support, as well as thousands of messages including it. A situation that was not improved by the network's statement informing that McDaniel was becoming part of the political analyst team. At the beginning of the interview, the presenter herself noted that "this will be a news interview, and I was not involved in her hiring."
Chuck Todd , one of the station's most recognizable faces, attacked his bosses live while talking to Welker: "I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation." Furthermore, the veteran journalist revealed that a significant number of NBC professionals "are uncomfortable with this because many of our professional relationships with the RNC in the last six years have been met with gaslighting, they have been met with character assassination..."
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 "contradictions" of the 'new' McDaniel
During the interview, McDaniel began to distance herself from the wing of the GOP closest to MAGA, such as describing Biden as a legitimate president since he won the elections "fair and square" in 2020, compared to her speech while she held a position in the party. Likewise, she was against the release of people convicted on January 6, pointing out that she could not express her opinion while she was presiding over the RNC.
Some words that did not convince the analysts, again led by Todd, for whom he did not know to what extent she was sincere or was she simply trying to protect her new contract: "You have credibility issues that you still have to deal with. "Speaks for herself or speaks on behalf of those who pay her?... I will say this. "I think your interview has done a good job of exposing many of the contradictions."
