MSNBC host Rachel Maddow bashed NBC’s decision to rent former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as “inexplicable” — and urged the media giant to “reverse their decision.”
Maddow, the left-leaning network’s highest-paid star, joined a chorus of anchors who’ve ripped the parent company’s decision so as to add a staunch defender of Donald Trump for the past seven years.
“The proven fact that Ms. McDaniel is on the payroll at NBC News, to me that’s inexplicable,” Maddow said during Monday’s broadcast of her weekly primetime show.
“I hope they may reverse their decision,” Maddow added during her monologue, earlier reported on by Mediaite.
Maddow went on to bash McDaniel as “someone who hasn’t just attacked us as journalists, but someone who is a component of an ongoing project to get rid of our system of government.”
“You wouldn’t hire a made man like a mobster to work at a DA’s office, right? You wouldn’t hire a pick-pocket to work as a TSA screener,” Maddow concluded.
![Rachel Maddow discussing the role of Ronna McDaniel in Donald Trump's political rise on her MSNBC show](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/msnbc-rachel-maddow-looks-role-79038938.jpg?w=1024)
McDaniel was backed by Trump to take over the party apparatus after he won the presidency in 2016.
She stepped down as RNC chair earlier this month amid a Trump-backed leadership shakeup that saw her replaced by Michael Whatley. Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump ascended to party co-chair.
During an interview with MSNBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday ahead of McDaniel’s appearance as an on-air contributor with the network, McDaniel told host Kristen Welker that she will be able to speak more candidly now that she’s not the RNC chair.
When asked about Trump’s allegations of election fraud within the last presidential election, McDaniel affirmed that “the fact is Joe Biden won, he’s the president” — while adding, “I proceed to say there have been issues in 2020” with respect to the way in which the election was carried out in certain states.
Later within the contentious interview, McDaniel rebuffed suggestions that she couldn’t be trusted ahead of the expected rematch between Trump and Joe Biden..
“I don’t think I’m changing my tone in any respect,” McDaniel replied when asked about whether she was flop-flopping about Biden being “legitimately elected” as president.
Welker issued a disclaimer before her interview with McDaniel, telling viewers that it was booked before her contract with NBC was announced.
Ahead of the segment, former “Meet the Press” anchor Chuck Todd also slammed the network over the hiring during a panel on the show Sunday, contending McDaniel’s hiring made his successor’s job tougher.
![President Donald Trump and Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel speaking at a campaign rally in Cape Girardeau, MO, in 2018.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/2018-cape-girardeau-mo-trump-76420812_e96d55.jpg?w=1024)
“There’s a reason why there’s quite a bit of journalists at NBC News uncomfortable with this,” he said.
MSNBC “morning “Morning Joe” stars Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have since joined the revolt against McDaniel’s hiring, calling her an “anti-democracy election denier.”
“We hope NBC will reconsider its decision” to rent McDaniel, said Brzezinski, who co-hosts the four-hour morning show along with her husband, former Congressman Scarborough (R-Fla.).
Brzezinski said the pair won’t invite McDaniel on to their air in protest.