(HorizonPost.com) – Panelists from NBC News’s “Meet the Press” had harsh criticism for the network on Sunday over its decision to hire former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel as a political analyst, the Washington Post reported.
McDaniel was interviewed by “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker on Sunday, who revealed that her interview with McDaniel had been scheduled weeks before NBC News announced that they were bringing her on. Welker added that she was not involved in the decision to hire McDaniel and that her interview with McDaniel would be “a news interview.”
Welker pressed McDaniel about Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was “rigged” and his repeated vow to “free” the January 6 prisoners. McDaniel insisted that Joe Biden was the “legitimate president” and said, “The reality is Joe Biden won.”
However, during the panel discussion, former “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd and the other NBC News panelists blasted NBC News executives for hiring McDaniel and questioned the former RNC chair’s sincerity.
Todd told Kristen Welker that their bosses owed her an apology for placing her “in this situation.” He suggested that McDaniel answered the questions in the manner she did so she wouldn’t “mess up her contract” with the network.
Todd also blasted McDaniel for refusing to accept invitations to appear on the network when she was RNC chair. He explained that NBC reporters were “uncomfortable” with McDaniel being hired because, under her leadership, their efforts to deal with the RNC were “met with gaslighting” and “character assassination.
“Meet the Press” panelist Kimberly Atkins Stohr from the Boston Globe said that McDaniel “habitually lied” and “carried water for Donald Trump,” destroying her credibility. Atkins Stohr also blasted McDaniel for echoing Trump’s attacks on members of the press and claimed it “put journalists at risk.”
The criticism against NBC continued on MSNBC during “Morning Joe” with host Joe Scarborough and his panel saying they “strongly objected” to the network hiring the former RNC chair.
Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, accused McDaniel of being involved in Trump’s fraudulent electors scheme and pressuring election officials in some states not to certify the 2020 results.
On March 26, 2024, NBC reversed its decision to hire Ronna McDaniel in response to widespread on-air backlash.
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