NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd slammed his network during a Sunday broadcast of “Meet the Press” after NBC hired former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor.
Todd 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. McDaniel stepped down from her role as chair of the RNC following a private meeting in February with former President Donald Trump, who tapped her to lead the party after his 2016 presidential election victory.
“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?”
Todd went on to say that he believes many NBC journalists “are uncomfortable” with McDaniel’s hiring “because many of our professional dealings with the RNC over the last six years have been met with gaslighting, have been met with character assassination.”
“When NBC made the decision to give her NBC News’ credibility, you have to ask yourself, ‘What does she bring NBC News?'”
Todd added that there’s an argument to be made for the network bringing McDaniel on to get more access to the Republican Party.
“If you told me we were hiring her as a technical adviser to the Republican convention, I think that would be certainly defensible,” he said.
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.
Quite a moment on Meet the Press this morning. pic.twitter.com/1RKvAq7mj2
— Mike Hixenbaugh (@Mike_Hixenbaugh) March 24, 2024
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McDaniel officially announced her resignation weeks before the RNC elected Michael Whatley as chair and Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump as co-chair of the party.
“President Trump deserves to have the team he wants in place at the RNC,” McDaniel said.
“I will do everything possible to re-elect President Trump in November,” she added. “And I ask all of you out there who worked so hard during this primary season or supported another candidate, that you come in and join me in supporting our president as well.”
Todd was ripped for his comments on “Meet the Press” as many conservatives pointed out that many who are employed by NBC News, including Todd, previously worked for Democrats.
“Chuck Todd was a Dem staffer. Tim Russert was a Dem staffer. George [Stephanopoulos] was a senior Dem WH staffer. Jen Psaki was a senior Dem WH staffer. But, NBC hired a Republican??!!?! It’s the end of the world,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) wrote.
The Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway added, “Chuck Todd, a dangerous propagandist who has pushed the Russia collusion lie FOR YEARS, trashes his employers and warns about ‘gaslighting’ and ‘credibility’ because NBC — which employs Democrat activists Jen Psaki and Kristen Welker, etc. — hired a single Republican.”