Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and former President Donald Trump ripped NBC as “weak” and “an absolute disgrace” after the network dropped former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel four days after announcing her hiring as a contributor.
NBC announced on Tuesday that McDaniel was out after multiple hosts — including Chuck Todd, Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, and Nicolle Wallace — criticized the network’s decision to hire the former RNC leader.
“There is no doubt that the last several days have been difficult for the News Group. After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor,” NBC News Chairman Cesar Conde said in a statement. “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.”
Following the announcement, social media quickly flooded with posts slamming NBC’s decision.
“NBC ‘News’ is an absolute disgrace,” Speaker Johnson wrote in a post on X.
Trump released a statement on his social media platform Truth Social, expressing his surprise at NBC’s move before calling for more “free and fair press.”
“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. “It leaves her in a very strange place, it’s called NEVER NEVERLAND, and it’s not a place you want to be. These Radical Left Lunatics are CRAZY, and the top people at NBC ARE WEAK. They were BROKEN and EMBARRASSED by LOW RATINGS, HIGHLY OVERPAID, ‘TALENT.’ BRING BACK FREE AND FAIR PRESS – MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN 2024!”
McDaniel accepted the NBC offer after she stepped down from her role as chair of the RNC following a private meeting in February with Trump, who tapped her to lead the party after his 2016 presidential election victory.
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During a “Meet the Press” segment on Sunday, Todd — NBC News’ chief political analyst — discussed McDaniel’s hiring with journalist Kristen Welker, who recently sat down with McDaniel for an interview on the relationship between the Trump campaign and the RNC in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
“Let me deal with the elephant in the room,” Todd said, looking at Welker. “I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation because I don’t know what to believe. [McDaniel] is now a paid contributor by NBC News. I have no idea whether any answer she gave to you was because she didn’t want to mess up her contract.”
“She wants us to believe that she was speaking for the RNC when the RNC was paying for her, so she has credibility issues that she still has to deal with,” Todd added. “Is she speaking for herself or is she speaking on behalf of who is paying for her?”
In his critique of NBC, Todd did not mention former RNC Chair Michael Steele, who has worked as a regular MSNBC contributor since 2011. Steele endorsed Joe Biden in his 2020 run against Trump and joined the anti-Trump Lincoln Project.
In a follow-up post on Tuesday night, Trump continued to berate NBC executives for allowing Todd “to publicly scold them,” and said he would’ve advised McDaniel to go by her maiden name Romney to secure the job at the Left-leaning network. McDaniel is the niece of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).
“What boss or executive would allow a man or woman, in this case Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd, who was fired for dismal performance coupled with horrendous television ratings, to publicly SCOLD them as to their weakness & stupidity in hiring Ronna McDaniel[?]” Trump asked. “Actually, they should be scolded for hiring ‘Sleepy’ for Meet the Fake Press, and keeping him on so long despite his poor performing skills, bad ratings, and bias.”
“The sick degenerates over at MSDNC are really running NBC, and there seems nothing Chairman Brian Roberts can do about it. Watching Chuck Todd, of all people, viciously giving Roberts a piece of his small mind, and then berating him for hiring Ronna without his, or the other lunatics, approval, was just a step too far,” Trump added. “Brian’s great father would have fired Chuck Todd, and all the rest of these losers, on the spot. Perhaps Brian still will. If I knew Ronna was going to troubled MSNBC, I would have advised her to change her name back to Romney, she would have had a better chance!”
