NBC News, MSNBC Get Pushback For Hiring Ronna McDaniel

Ronna McDaniel

NBC News and MSNBC are facing a wave of backlash after hiring former Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel as an on-air contributor on Friday, with some staffers speaking out publicly against the move. 

McDaniel has repeatedly attacked the network in the past, calling their journalists “propagandists.” She also promoted false claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election. 

MSNBC’s primetime propagandists wasted countless hours pushing the Russia collusion hoax.

Last night, they discussed Durham's report for barely 10 minutes, in which they insisted the weaponization of government found in the report was no big deal.

— Ronna McDaniel (@RonnaMcDaniel) May 16, 2023

The hire ignited controversy with some network staffers speaking out, including MSNBC columnist Marisa Kabas who posted on social media an email she sent to NBC News questioning the network’s reasoning and asking for them to reconsider the hire. 

“You wrote: ‘It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team.’ As a fellow voice on the team — albeit one far less known, far less powerful, and likely far less compensated — I want to understand what kind of message this is supposed to send to us?” Kabas wrote in the email. 

“As columnists we are held to strict standards of factuality and truth, and are expected to have a fundamental understanding of our democracy,” Kabas continued. “McDaniel has proven time and again she adheres to none of those values, and lacks that very basic understanding.”

Another MSNBC columnist, Andrea Grimes “cosigned” the message by simply writing “f–k this.” In the internal memo announcing the hiring of McDaniel, senior VP of politics Carrie Budoff Brown wrote that “NBC News has a legacy of serving its audience through reporting that reflects and examines the diverse perspectives of American voters … this variety of voices builds on our rigorous reporting and helps bring audiences and voters closer to the thinking and decision making within our halls of power.”

Others outside of the network lambasted the decision across social media.