Chuck Todd, the former host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” erupted on his own bosses over the network’s hiring of former RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel moments after she made her debut Sunday morning.
He told the show’s new host, Kristin Welker, that NBC should actually apologize for having Welker interview McDaniel, who resigned her position March 8 when it became clear former President Donald Trump would clinch the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
“Let me deal with the elephant in the room,” Todd said. “I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation because I don’t know what to believe.”
“She is now a paid contributor by NBC News,” he told Welker. “I have no idea whether any answer she gave to you was because she didn’t want to mess up her contract.”
WATCH: Chuck Todd just attacked his own network, NBC News, over hiring Ronna McDaniel. “Our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation,” he told Kristen Welker on Meet the Press. “There’s a reason why there’s a lot of journalists at NBC News uncomfortable with… pic.twitter.com/gjjhy7s4TN
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) March 24, 2024
“She wants us to believe that she was speaking for the RNC when the RNC was paying for it. So, she has credibility issues that she still has to deal with. Is she speaking for herself or is she speaking on behalf of who’s paying her? Once at the RNC, she did say that. ‘Hey, I’m speaking for the party.’ I get that, that’s part of the job. So, what about here?” he asked.
“Look, there’s a reason why there are a lot of journalists at NBC News uncomfortable with this,” Todd said. “Because many of our professional dealings with the RNC over the last six years have been met with gaslighting and have been met with character assassination.”
“When NBC made the decision to give her NBC News’ credibility, you got to ask yourself, what does she bring NBC News? And when we make deals like this, and I’ve been at this company a long time, you’re doing it for access. Access to audience. Sometimes it’s access to an individual. And we can have a journalistic ethics debate about that. And I’m willing to have that debate,” Todd added.
WATCH: Former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel says she doesn’t support freeing those charged and convicted with crimes related to January 6th — something Donald Trump has promised to do if re-elected.@kwelkernbc: “Why not speak out earlier?”@RonnaMcDaniel: “When you’re the RNC… pic.twitter.com/9wqOoKnUdR
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 24, 2024
Glenn Greenwald, a journalist who co-founded the Intercept, noted such “melodrama” is absent when Democrat “operatives” are hired by networks.
“NBC negotiated a contract with Jen Psaki while she was White House Press Secretary,” Greenwald posted on X.
“ABC hired George Stephanopoulos — directly from the Clinton WH, with no journalism experience. All these networks hire operatives from the US Security State. It never prompts this melodrama.”
NBC negotiated a contract with Jen Psaki while she was White House Press Secretary.
ABC hired George Stephanopoulos — directly from the Clinton WH, with no journalism experience.
All these networks hire operatives from the US Security State.
It never prompts this melodrama: https://t.co/ToExKFxiI8
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 24, 2024
One creative commenter on X, apparently not thrilled with McDaniel, superimposed a distasteful image over the Republican’s face, and played a clip of her saying, “Now I get to be a little bit more myself.”
Former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel on NBC Meet The Press
“Now I can be myself” #BoycottMeetThePress pic.twitter.com/BM2npVBe0n
— PoliticalPuertoRican (@PRMemes_) March 24, 2024
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