NBC News dropped former Republican National Committee boss Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor — a humiliating turnaround after a mutiny among the network’s stars.
MSNBC prime-time headliner Rachel Maddow and the co-hosts of “Morning Joe” were among those who sparked a revolt over the decision to bring the Trump-backing politico on board, which was announced last Friday.
NBCU Universal Chairman Cesar Conde took “full responsibility” for the decision to hire McDaniel — and can her less than a week later — in a memo to furious staffers Tuesday evening obtained by The Post.
“After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor,” he wrote.
“Our initial decision was made because of our deep commitment to presenting our audiences with a widely diverse set of viewpoints and experiences, particularly during these consequential times,” he added.
Despite that, Conde said he was sorry for authorizing the hire.
“I want to personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down. While this was a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team, I approved it and take full responsibility for it.”
McDaniel was hired by NBC News editorial chief Rebecca Blumenstein.
The decision was backed by Carrie Budoff Brown, who heads political coverage at NBC News, with Conde also looped in.
McDaniel is reportedly looking to hire a lawyer, according to Puck News.
The Post has sought comment from McDaniel.
Rashida Jones, head of MSNBC, also reportedly backed the decision to hire McDaniel, but in the face of the uproar among her stable of stars she let it be known they would not be required to have McDaniel on their shows.
Maddow, the cable network’s most bankable star, and NBC News’ Chuck Todd had decried the hire, which was announced last Friday.
“Rachel and Chuck call the shots,” a source told The Post before Conde issued his memo.
A second network source said Jones was put in a difficult position and had to speak out in order to keep Maddow “happy.”
“Maddow is bringing in over 3 million viewers,” the insider said.
A third source called the decision to bring in McDaniel “misguided.”
“They thought this would bring in more conservative viewers and give a conservative point of view,” the source said. “It is misguided given that no wing of the conservative movement claims Ronna any longer! Don’t understand how no one realized that.”
The decision to hire McDaniel sparked anger due to her backing of former President Donald Trump.
But last month, Trump’s campaign fired McDaniel and dozens of other RNC officials and replaced them with people perceived as more loyal to the presumptive GOP nominee.
The former president reportedly soured on McDaniel because she would not enthusiastically endorse his claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent.
Maddow had demanded that NBC executives “reverse their decision” during Monday’s broadcast of her weekly primetime show.
“The fact that Ms. McDaniel is on the payroll at NBC News, to me that is inexplicable,” she railed
Maddow went on to bash McDaniel as “someone who hasn’t just attacked us as journalists, but someone who is part of an ongoing project to get rid of our system of government.”
“You wouldn’t hire a made man like a mobster to work at a DA’s office, right? You wouldn’t hire a pickpocket to work as a TSA screener,” Maddow concluded.
Earlier Monday, Joe Scarborough and his wife, Mika Brzezinski, who co-host MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” pledged on the air that they would not invite McDaniel to their program, calling her an “anti-democracy election denier.”
McDaniel’s name is mentioned in the Justice Department’s indictment of Trump related to his role in the alleged fake elector scheme.
After the 2020 election, Trump and his allies in several states allegedly sought to create a slate of fraudulent electors who would falsely claim that the 45th president had won the Electoral College votes in those states.
According to federal prosecutors, Trump and an ally, attorney John Eastman, sought McDaniel’s help in furthering the alleged scheme.
The 45-page indictment handed down by special counsel Jack Smith found that McDaniel was misled.
Trump and Eastman “falsely represented to [McDaniel] that such electors’ votes would be used only if ongoing litigation in one of those states changed the results in [Trump’s] favor.”
McDaniel gave an interview to “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker on Sunday in which she acknowledged that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election “fair and square.”
The interview was taped weeks before it was announced that McDaniel would be joining NBC News.
Welker provided an on-air disclaimer on Sunday informing viewers that she had no knowledge of McDaniel’s hiring at the time she conducted the interview.
Todd, Welker’s predecessor, appeared during a separate segment of “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
In the panel discussion, Todd hit out at NBC News management for putting Welker in an awkward position.
Joy Reid and Jen Psaki of MSNBC echoed the criticisms aired by Todd, Maddow, Scarborough and Brzezinski.
