Chuck Todd Delivers Jaw-Dropping, Scorched Earth Rebuke of NBC News Hiring Ronna McDaniel — Live On Meet the Press
“I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation,” NBC’s Chuck Todd told Kristen Welker — kicking off one of the most stunning TV news commentaries in recent memory.
Moments after newly-hired NBC News contributor (and former RNC chair) Ronna McDaniel appeared for a contentious interview with Welker on Sunday’s Meet the Press, Todd went scorched earth in calling out the decision to hire McDaniel.
“She is now a paid contributor by NBC news,” Todd told Welker. “I have no idea whether any answer she gave to you was because she didn’t want to mess up her contract. She wants us to believe that she was speaking for the RNC when the RNC was paying for it. So she has she has credibility issues that she still has to deal with. Is she speaking for herself or is she speaking on behalf of who’s paying her? Once at the RNC, she did say that. Hey, I’m speaking for the party. I get that that’s part of the job. So, what about here?”
Todd praised his colleague — telling her, “I think your interview, did a good job of exposing, I think, many of the contradictions.”
The former Meet the Press moderator went on to say that many of his colleagues have concerns about McDaniel’s hire.
“Look, there’s a reason why there’s a lot of journalists at NBC News are uncomfortable with this,” Todd said. “Because many of our professional dealings with the RNC over the last six years have been met with gaslighting, have been met with character assassination.”
Todd then brought his gutsy commentary to a crescendo.
“When NBC made the decision to give her NBC News’ credibility, you got to ask yourself, what does she bring NBC News?” Tpdd said. “And when we make deals like this, and I’ve been at this company a long time, you’re doing it for access. Access to audience. Sometimes it’s access to an individual. And we can have a journalistic ethics debate about that. And I’m willing to have that debate. And if you told me we were hiring her as a technical adviser to the Republican convention, I think that would be certainly defensible. If you told me we’re we’re talking to her, but let’s see how she does in some interviews and maybe vet her with actual journalists inside the network to see if it’s a two-way, what she can bring the network.”
So I do think, unfortunately, this interview was always going to be looked through the prism of who is she speaking for? I think you did everything you could do. You got put into an impossible situation booking this interview, and then all of a sudden, the rug pulled out from under you. You find out she’s being paid to show up.”
“It’s unfortunate for this program,” Todd told Welker. “I am glad you did the best you could.”
“I appreciate that,” Welker replied.
Watch above, via NBC.
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