NBC News has reversed its decision to hire former Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel as a political analyst after network executives faced fierce on-air criticism.
“The last few days have certainly been difficult for the Newsgroup. After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will no longer be a contributor to NBC News,” NBCUniversal Group Chairman Cesar Conde said in an email to employees Tuesday.
“I would like to personally apologize to our team members who feel we have let them down. Although this is a collective recommendation of some members of our leadership team, I have approved it and take full responsibility for it,” Conde wrote.
The decision to cut ties with McDaniel comes less than a week after NBC News announced his hiring, prompting an unusual public outcry from the former Sunday morning political show host as well as some of the network’s most popular cable anchors. channel.
Rachel Maddow opened her show Monday night on MSNBC Urging NBC News to change its mind about hiring McDaniel.
“I find the decision to put him on the payroll inexplicable and I hope they reconsider that decision,” Maddow said.
MSNBC and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal News Group.
McDaniel did not immediately respond to voice mail and emails seeking comment.
McDaniel’s hiring comes two weeks after former President Donald Trump stepped down as head of the RNC, where he supported baseless claims about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Conde said in his memoir that the decision to bring McDaniel on board was made “especially in these later times because of our deep commitment to bringing a wide variety of perspectives and experiences to our audiences. We remain committed to the principle that our programs should include diverse perspectives, and to that end we will redouble our efforts to seek out voices that represent different parts of the political spectrum.”
On-air reporters at NBC News and MSNBC argued that McDaniel was unreliable. This was reported by Detroit News he Joined Trump’s phone call as he pressured Republican canvassers in his home state of Michigan Not to confirm the results of the 2020 presidential elections.
In an interview Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that host Kristen Welker said was scheduled before McDaniel was announced as a paid contributor, McDaniel addressed the phone call with the canvassers, saying, “I didn’t tell them anything.”
“I support you voting your conscience,” McDaniel said Sunday, adding, “They were pressured through hours and hours of threats and abuse that forced them to change their vote.”
After his appearance, NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd said on the broadcast that “he still has credibility issues to work out.”
Criticism of his hiring continued early Monday morning Late Night on MSNBC“Morning Joe” host Mika Brzezinski said that while NBC News should include conservative Republican voices to balance its election coverage, it shouldn’t be someone who “uses a position of power to be an anti-democratic election denier.”
Television networks often add politicians and political operatives to their rosters to serve as analysts and commentators: MSNBC’s Jen Psaki is a former press secretary for President Joe Biden, and Michael Steele, who served as RNC chairman from 2009-2011, is MSNBC’s . political analyst and presenter.
But McDaniel’s hiring immediately caused internal unrest.
President George W. Bush’s former White House communications director, Nicole Wallace, now an MSNBC host, said on Monday that McDaniel’s presence on the network would encourage “election deniers.”
“NBC News is teaching election deniers whether they want to or not that they can do more than appear on our air and do interviews to debunk lies about the sanctity and integrity of our elections,” he said.