Talking heads on NBC News suffered an on-air meltdown Sunday over the network’s recruitment of former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel to offer occasional commentary. This, after MSNBC awarded President Joe Biden’s former press secretary a prime-time show.
NBC announced last week that Ronna McDaniel would be joining the network’s lineup of political analysts following her resignation as chair of the RNC. Her first appearance came Sunday with an interview on “Meet the Press” hosted by Kristen Welker, who opened the 20-minute sit-down discussion with an over-the-top disclaimer about McDaniel’s new gig.
“In full disclosure to our viewers, this interview was scheduled weeks before it was announced that McDaniel had become a paid NBC News contributor,” Welker said. “This will be a news interview, and I was not involved in her hiring.”
There has been more consternation and throat clearing over Romney than there ever was NBC hiring the sitting WH Press Secretary at the time. https://t.co/5C7yl9EU7Q
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) March 24, 2024
Welker’s predecessor on NBC’s flagship Sunday political program, Chuck Todd, who remains NBC News’ chief political analyst, told Welker she deserved an apology from network executives.
“Let me deal with the elephant in the room,” Todd said on a “Meet the Press” panel. “I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation.”
“There’s a reason why there’s a lot of journalists at NBC News uncomfortable with this,” Todd continued, “because many of our professional dealings
