Veteran NBC anchor Chuck Todd publicly attacked his own network's leadership on Sunday, questioning why NBC News hired Rona McDaniel, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, and announced on air. Journalists at NBC News are embarrassed by this.
Mr. Todd's comments are an unusual escalation of behind-the-scenes tensions within NBC News and its cable cousin MSNBC. On Friday Mrs. McDaniel was brought in as a political analyst.
Some journalists at NBC were shocked by the decision to hire McDaniel, who at the RNC was President Donald J. Citing Trump's tenure, Mr. He continued to echo Trump's criticisms. programs on MSNBC.
By Monday morning, there were signs of open revolt across the NBC News empire.
On Monday's edition of the influential MSNBC show “Morning Joe,” Joe Scarborough, Mr. Todd echoed the criticism. “We were not asked for our opinion on the hiring, but if we had been, we would have been strongly opposed to it for a number of reasons,” Mr. Scarborough told his audience. His co-host Micah Brzezinski added, “We hope NBC will reconsider its decision.”
Ms. Brzezinski said.
MSNBC President Rashida Jones invited several prominent anchors over the weekend to feature Ms. McDaniel vowed not to be forced to book, according to those conversations, which the two men, who requested anonymity to share details that were supposed to remain private, recounted the conversations.
Ms. McDaniel made his NBC debut Sunday on “Meet the Press,” with current host Kristen Welker, Ms. McDaniel told the audience he was scheduled to join as a paid contributor weeks in advance. “It was going to be a news interview, and I wasn't involved in her hiring,” Ms. Welker said.
After Interview On air, Ms. Welker participated in a live panel discussion in which Mr. Todd was contained, as he began his remarks by saying, “I'll deal with the elephant in the room.”
“I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this position,” said Mr. Todd said. “Because I don't know what to believe. He's now a paid contributor with NBC News, so I don't know if any of his answers to you are because he doesn't want to mess up his contract.
McDaniel has “credibility issues,” Mr. Todd said, “There's a reason there's a lot of journalists at NBC News because a lot of our professional dealings with the RNC over the last six years have been met with gaslighting, character assassination.
He added: “So, when NBC decided to give her the credibility of NBC News, 'What did she bring to NBC News?' You have to ask yourself that.
Contacted on Sunday, Ms. McDaniel declined to comment.
The path from Washington politics to the on-air analyst role was well-worn. Ms. McDaniel is only the latest leading Republican to sign a deal with a network; For example, Mr. Reince Priebus, who served as Trump's first chief of staff, is now a contributor to ABC News.
Not just political left-leaning pundits, but television newsrooms are also keen to ensure that their campaign coverage carries diverse ideological voices. The heads of NBC News, which unlike MSNBC does not air opinion programs, said on Friday that Ms. They emphasized this point in their memo announcing McDaniel's new role.
“It couldn't be a more important moment to have a voice like Rona's on the team,” wrote Gary Budoff Brown, who oversees NBC News' political coverage. “He will support our leading coverage by providing insight into national politics and the future of the Republican Party.” NBC News has already hired Republican commentators such as Mark Short, who served as chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence.
On Sunday Ms. In her interview with McDaniel, Ms. Welker pressed the former Republican Party leader on whether he believes President Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election.
“Fair and square, he won,” Ms McDaniel said. “It's certified. It's done.”
“Rona, why did it take you so long to say that?” Ms. Welker asked.
“I'm going to backtrack a little bit because I think it's fair to say that there were issues in 2020, and that doesn't mean he's not a legitimate president,” Ms. McDaniel responded.
Vice President Kamala Harris' former chief spokesman Simon D. Sanders, now a host on MSNBC, later praised Ms. Welker for her handling of the interview, Writing in X“She put her on a lot of records.”
