Chuck Todd, NBC’s chief political analyst, said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that many of the company’s journalists were uncomfortable with the hiring of former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel. He said he was holding her.
“I think our boss owes you an apology for putting you in this situation,” Todd told host Kristen Welker. “I don’t know what to believe. She is currently a paid contributor for NBC News. I don’t know if the answer she gave you was because she didn’t want to mess up the deal. , wants us to believe that she was speaking on behalf of the RNC, which means she still has credibility issues to deal with. Is she speaking for or on behalf of the people who are paying her? When she went to the RNC, she said that. Hey, I don’t represent the party. I understand that’s part of the job. So, what about this? Let me just say this: I think your interview did a good job of exposing a lot of the contradictions.”
He added, “There’s a reason why many journalists at NBC News are uncomfortable with this, because so much of our professional dealings with the RNC over the past six years have involved gaslighting and character assassination.” When NBC made the decision to give her the credibility of NBC News, you have to ask yourself, what will she bring to NBC News? When you do a deal like this, and I’ve been with this company a long time, you’re doing it for access. Access to an audience. Access to an individual in some cases. And, You can have a journalistic ethics debate about that. And I’m going to have that debate. And I think that’s certainly defensible when you say they’re hiring her as a technical advisor to the Republican convention. If you told us you’re talking to her, let’s see how she does in some interviews and maybe if it’s a two-way street, if she goes to the network Let’s vet it with real journalists in our network to see what we can bring to the table.”
Todd concluded: I think he did everything he could. You find yourself in the impossible situation of booking this interview, and suddenly the rug is pulled out from under you. It turns out she was paid to appear. It’s a shame for this show. I’m glad you did your best. ”
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