Here’s what the NBC News brand gained by hiring former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel: nothing. And here’s what the NBC News brand lost by reportedly firing her less than a week later: nothing.
Some congratulations should probably go to the corny hosts and anchors at NBC and its cable news arm MSNBC, though. Their on-air tantrums over McDaniel’s ephemeral employment are why she’s now out of a $300,000 contract and now they get to spend another 48 hours patting each other on the back for having once again fought off fascism.
That’s seriously how they think this ridiculous affair played out.
For non-NBC watchers (virtually everyone reading this), McDaniel’s contributor status was announced Friday and she made her first appearance as a paid talking head on Sunday’s edition of “Meet the Press,” where she sat for a 20-minute slog of an interview with host Kristen Welker. It was a predictable segment with Welker prodding McDaniel to either defend or disavow anything she ever said as chairwoman of the RNC during Donald Trump’s tenure as president. But afterward, Chuck Todd, the show’s former moderator, took it upon himself to defend Welker’s honor. (Nothing like a Democrat white man assuming his role as a black person’s savior.)
“I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation,” he said to Welker, as though she had just been asked to clean the toilets, rather than conduct an interview on a still-somewhat prestigious newscast. Thereafter on MSNBC, Joe Brzezinski Scarborough, Joy Reid, Jen Psaki, and Rachel Maddow took turns registering their own distaste with their new colleague, declaring McDaniel would never be allowed on their shows (which is a little like being banned from the Golden Corral— wait, no, please, I’ll be good, I swear…).
And they say what’s happening in Gaza is disproportionate.
The seething and nagging over such a banal personnel change was truly awe-inspiring. Political operatives and officials frequently come and go as paid TV news contributors. One of MSNBC’s most precious hosts, Nicolle Wallace, spun communications for the Bush White House to justify America’s grotesque nosedive into the Iraq War. Nobody else at NBC or otherwise comes even close to being so scandalous of a hire.
Least of all Ronna McDaniel, who is neither loved nor hated by substantial numbers of anybody in the Republican Party. Pro-Trump people don’t care about her. Nikki Haley voters don’t care about her. If there were any legitimate question about her employment, it would be what exactly NBC had to gain from it. I can’t think of anything. Fortunately for them, they’ll also lose nothing without her.
Last Friday, NBC announced they had hired former RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. Today, after much backlash over her hiring, they fired her.
Assuming there is an ordinary and/or reasonable termination clause in her contract, Ronna likely just became one of the highest paid political/media personalities for 3-days of work. Sheesh, what a hot mess.
WASHINGTON – NBC and Ronna McDaniel have severed ties following unprecedented internal backlash over the network’s decision to hire her as a political analyst, including top NBC personalities denouncing the move on-air.
“After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor,” NBCUniversal News Group Chair Cesar Conde wrote in a message to employees. (read more)
Unrelated/Semi-Related story I forgot to mention earlier. When I was recently flying out of Washington DC, I happened to be on a flight with dozens of former and current Intelligence Community bureaucrats – all from DC, and all heading to some kind of symposium. On this flight you could watch television on your monitor, pick the channel and watch it (not a very long flight).
Every single one of the IC people from DC, including former Acting CIA Director Mike Morrell (see below), chose to watch MSNBC on their monitor.
I thought to myself, ‘this should indicate something.’ lolol But, I kept quiet and just read their emails, text messages, and whatever else I could see on their laptops 
