Mick Mulvaney defends Ronna McDaniel amid NBC turmoil

Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney is facing criticism from some of the network’s biggest stars over NBC News’ decision to hire former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor. is scoffing.

“This has nothing to do with Ronna McDaniel’s actions on January 6th or during the 2020 election,” Mulvaney said. he said during an appearance on Monday. on cable news channel NewsNation. “NBC can’t stand the appearance of right-wing figures on its hallowed airwaves. If it weren’t so sad, it would be hysterically funny.”

McDaniel’s hiring, announced by NBC over the weekend, sparked a fierce backlash from some of NBC’s top anchors and journalists, as well as those at its left-leaning sister cable news network, MSNBC.

McDaniel has come under fire for her comments about the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and criticized positions she defended in an interview on “Meet the Press” over the weekend. ing.

On Monday, multiple MSNBC hosts mocked McDaniel, accused her of being an apologist for former President Trump, and expressed outrage that NBC put her on the pay scale with a reportedly six-figure contract. It was criticized for using the station’s radio waves to do so.

Host Rachel Maddow called the hire “inexplicable,” and critic Nicole Wallace said the station was “knowingly or unwittingly” sending a message to “election deniers” by giving them a platform on the network. accused of sending.

“Morning Joe” hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough said McDaniel would not appear on their show and Maddow would not appear on MSNBC at all.

Mulvaney, who served as Trump’s chief of staff, faced similar backlash last spring when it was announced that he had been hired as a contributor by CBS News.

Mulvaney was later hired as a contributor for NewsNation, a cable news channel that, like The Hill, is owned by Nexstar Media Group.

“I’m laughing out loud,” he said. “It’s so fun to watch these guys go down.”