NBC presents meltdown over Ronna McDaniel hiring: Morning Joe stars demand executives explain decision to hire former RNC chief and ban her from appearing on their show

NBC anchors are objecting on air to the hiring of former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel after she launched her new contributor gig on Sunday.

The vocal objection continued Monday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, where the two main hosts, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, said they would not welcome McDaniel to their show.

It came after McDaniel appeared with Kristen Welker on NBC Meet the Press for a heated discussion about her previous positions as RNC chair and her seemingly conflicting positions now that she had been hired as a contributor at the left-leaning network.

Former NBC anchor Chuck Todd joined Welker for a panel after McDaniel’s interview and said their bosses owe her “an apology” for putting the former RNC head on the show.

“We heard about the hiring when we read it in the press on Friday,” Scarborough lamented at the start of his show on Monday morning. “We were not asked our views on the recruitment, but if we had been we would have strongly objected to it for a number of reasons.”

McDaniel launched her new NBC News gig with an appearance on Sunday morning’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker

His co-host and wife Brzezinski added, “To be clear, we believe that NBC News should seek out conservative Republican voices to provide balance in their election coverage, but they should be conservative Republicans, not someone who has used her position of power to become an election denier against democracy.”

“We hope that NBC will reconsider its decision.” “It goes without saying that she will not be a guest on Morning Joe in her capacity as a paid contributor,” she said.

A video clip was then played showing McDaniel’s various comments questioning the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

NBC announced last week that McDaniel was joining the network as a contributor after stepping down from her role as leader of the RNC following an intense pressure campaign from former President Trump and his allies who wanted her gone.

Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara, who is married to Eric Trump, was elected the new co-chair of the Republican Party at the RNC’s spring meeting in Texas earlier this month, and North Carolina RNC Chairman Michael Whatley was chosen to replace McDaniel. to replace.

McDaniel admitted Sunday that she “brought one for the team” because her job was to express the opinions of the entire RNC. She claims this included combating Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was not legitimate and that convicted inmates should be released from prison on January 6.

But Welker wondered why McDaniel could discuss this now but was unwilling to make the same claims when she was chair of the RNC for years.

“I don’t think people who committed violent acts on January 6 should be released,” McDaniel told Welker.

‘So you don’t agree with that. He’s been saying that for months, Ronna. Why don’t you speak out sooner? Why would you only speak out about that now?’ the NBC host asked.

“Now when you’re RNC chair, you take one for the whole team,” she responded, adding, “I’m allowed to be myself a little more now, right?”

“This is what I believe,” she continued. “I don’t think violence should be a part of our political discourse, Republican or Democrat. And I don’t agree with that. I agree with him on a whole host of other things.’

“I don’t think we should free people who violently attacked Capitol Hill police officers and attacked the Capitol.”

NBC host Chick Todd (left) said on a panel on Meet the Press on Sunday that bosses owe Welker an apology after McDaniel premiered her new contributor gig on her show

It followed a tense back-and-forth over the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and repeated claims that the results were not legitimate due to widespread fraud and interference.

McDaniel claims that while there were “problems” in 2020, she believes Biden is the legitimately elected president.

During an on-air panel following Welker’s conversation with McDaniel, her predecessor was visibly upset about the fact that the former RNC chairman was hired by NBC News in the first place — and then performed his colleague’s show on her new show.

‘Let me deal with the elephant in the room. I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation. Because I don’t know what to believe,” Todd said.

“She is now a paid contributor to NBC News, so I have no idea if the answers she gave to you were because she didn’t want to screw up her contract,” he continued. “She would have us believe she spoke on behalf of the RNC, even though the RNC paid for it.”

“So she has credibility issues that she’s still dealing with. Does she speak for herself or on behalf of whoever pays her?’