NBC News debacle: Ronna McDaniel hiring infuriates MSNBC insiders, prompts on-air rebukes

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When former Republican National Commitee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel landed a paid contributor gig at NBC News and its affiliated platforms on Friday, the uproar was predictable and immediate. And it hardly died out over the weekend. If anything, it got worse.

Chuck Todd demanded an apology from network honchos while on NBC's crown jewel Sunday news program, "Meet the Press." Current MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend – a Democratic political operative herself – taunted McDaniel on social media for her first interview where she was pressed by her new colleague, "MTP" host Kristen Welker. Welker was forced to explain at the start of the show that she had nothing to do with McDaniel's hiring and openly questioned the analyst's integrity. MSNBC president Rashida Jones assured furious staffers that McDaniel wouldn't appear on the airwaves of NBC's left-leaning cable affiliate.

So far, it's been a debacle for NBC News all the way around to bring in McDaniel, a Donald Trump acolyte besmirched in liberal eyes by her association with his stolen election rhetoric and efforts to overturn President Biden's 2020 victory.

Her hiring was championed in a memo Friday by NBC News political chief Carrie Budoff Brown, which stated, "It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the