NBC News is already planning to drop former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel amid on-air protests from the network’s hosts and pundits, according to Puck News’ Dylan Byers.
“Execs are deliberating over details; announcement pending. Meanwhile, McDaniel is seeking legal representation,” Byers tweeted on Tuesday.
“Ronna's NBC tenure lasted less than a Scaramucci,” quipped journalist Aaron Rupar, referring to former President Donald Trump’s ex-communication director’s firing 10 days after his appointment.
McDaniel’s hiring as an on-air contributor sparked rare on-air backlash from hosts on NBC News and MSNBC. NBC News’ Chuck Todd along with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, Joe Scarborough, Nicolle Wallace, Joy Reid, Lawrence O’Donnell and others were among those who publicly criticized the network on their air over the hiring.
MSNBC leadership reportedly vowed that McDaniel would not appear on the network after the backlash.
The hosts were particularly incensed over the hiring of a key individual in Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
“You wouldn’t hire a made man like a mobster to work at a D.A.’s office, right? You wouldn’t hire a pick-pocket to work as a TSA screener,” Maddow said Monday. “So I find the decision to put her on the payroll inexplicable, and I hope they will reverse their decision.”
