Connect with us

News

NBC Insiders ‘Pissed’ Over Ronna McDaniel Hiring as Maddow Reaction Awaited: Report

Published

on

NBC News and MSNBC staff, including on-air personalities are reportedly “pissed” at the network’s top brass who “unanimously” decided to hire former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel despite her false statements about the 2020 election and alleged involvement in attempting to overturn the results, as Politico reports “NBC’s McDaniel mess threatens to explode.”

Public outrage online exploded when the announcement was made Friday by NBC News senior vice president of politics Carrie Budoff Brown, a former Politico editor. That anger swelled when McDaniel, as announced, appeared Sunday on the network’s top branded property, “Meet the Press,” in an awkward and controversial interview with moderator Kristen Welker. The show’s former host, Chuck Todd, told Welker on-air Sunday after the McDaniel interview that NBC News executives “owe you an apology for putting you in this situation.” Todd also denounced the hiring of McDaniel.

“’There’s a reason a lot of journalists at NBC News are uncomfortable with this,’ Todd said,” CNN reported, “explaining that under McDaniel, the RNC engaged in ‘gaslighting’ and ‘character assassination’ when dealing with the news media.”

RELATED: ‘Handmaid of American Fascism’: Ronna McDaniel’s New NBC News Gig Sparks Fury

And yet, the hiring of McDaniel had its roots in the network’s hard-fought efforts to secure a GOP debate.

“It’s yet unclear whether the NBC-McDaniel relationship can survive the uproar. It was forged last year when NBC executives wooed her to land a Republican presidential debate, a high priority at the network. CNN had beat NBC in the race to host a Trump town hall, and securing a debate took on extra significance,” Politico noted. “Through that process McDaniel built a good rapport with NBC News executives Carrie Budoff Brown, senior vice president of politics, and Rebecca Blumenstein, president of editorial. They secured a deal, at a price: McDaniel insisted MSNBC could not simulcast the debate.”

Taking a swipe at its competitor, CNN added: “It is unusual and widely considered unethical for a news organization to put an election denier on its payroll, never mind someone who for years has smeared the credibility of the organization and its journalists.”

Politico interviewed “executives, hosts, correspondents, and producers in the wake of Todd’s public excoriation,” which “revealed a breakdown in trust and communication among the company’s balkanized and ideologically fractured divisions.”

Amid “a growing sense inside the Washington bureau that Comcast sees its news division, which has been subject to recent layoffs and other cuts, as a divisive nuisance to be stripped down,” there was anger not only at the hiring of McDaniel, but the $300,000 price tag.

“’Across MSNBC they have been cutting contributors,’ said one of the network’s hosts. ‘So everyone’s like, what the fuck? You found 300 for her?'”

READ MORE: Trump Ally’s Stunning Request: ‘If This Election Doesn’t Go Our Way the Next Day We Fight’

The decision to hire McDaniel appears to have been made in a C-suite bubble, as network top executives did not consult with hosts, anchors, producers, or other staff.

“People are pissed. It is a deeply unpopular move,” one insider told Politico.

Other network hosts, like MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, also denounced McDaniel’s hiring.

“We weren’t asked our opinion of the hiring but if we were, we would have strongly objected to it for several reasons,” Scarborough said Monday, The Hollywood Reporter added. Brzezinski said, “it should be conservative Republicans, not a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier, and we hope NBC will reconsider its decision. It goes without saying that she will not be a guest on Morning Joe in her capacity as a paid contributor.”

And now, all eyes are on Rachel Maddow, who is known to carry tremendous weight inside and outside the network.

“Network insiders are now watching to see if other hosts and contributors speak their minds, as well, with eyes particularly peeled for MSNBC’s prime-time lineup Monday, where tent-pole anchor Rachel Maddow is set go live at 9 p.m.”

 

There's a reason 10,000 people subscribe to NCRM. You can get the news before it breaks just by subscribing, plus you can learn something new every day.
Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

Ethics Committee Reveals Latest Republican to Come Under Review: Report

Published

on

The House Ethics Committee has reportedly announced that U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is facing a review by the Office of Congressional Conduct.

The origin of the review was not been disclosed. Under committee rules, officials are prohibited from stating whether the matter constitutes a formal investigation or identifying its underlying cause. The Committee only stated that there is a “matter regarding Representative Nancy Mace.”

“The Committee notes that the mere fact of a referral or an extension, and the mandatory disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject of the matter, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,” the Ethics Committee statement reads. It was posted to social media by congressional journalist Jamie Dupree.

The statement also says the committee will “announce its course of action in this matter on or before March 2, 2026.”

Congresswoman Mace is currently running for governor of South Carolina.

Earlier this month Mace warned that Republicans may lose control of the House, saying they have not “done enough” and could “do a lot more” to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda, The Hill reported.

 

Image via Shutterstock 

Continue Reading

News

Republican Vows to Block Trump’s Greenland Push

Published

on

A prominent Republican lawmaker is vowing to thwart any attempt by President Donald Trump to acquire Greenland through force or financial means.

Speaking from Copenhagen as part of a bipartisan delegation of U.S. congressional lawmakers, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), told reporters it is “an important message for the people of the Kingdom of Denmark to understand” that the United States has “three separate but equal branches” of government.

Reminding them that under the U.S. Constitution it is Congress that controls spending, Senator Murkowski, who has broken ranks and stood up to President Trump at times, said, “In Congress, we have tools at our disposal under our constitutional authority that speaks specifically to the power of the purse through appropriations.”

She noted also that “Congress has a role. Certainly, when it comes to spending authorities, the Congress has a role in basically helping to facilitate the message that comes from our constituents, to be reflected in whether it’s legislation or appropriations, or actions or measures, that can indicate, again, the will of the Congress.”

READ MORE: Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota

The “vast majority” of Americans do not support the acquisition of Greenland, Senator Murkowski added, noting that “some 75 percent will say we do not think that that is a good idea.”

“Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset,” Murkowski also told reporters.

Politico reported that U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) “also took part in the visit by House and Senate lawmakers,” and “said he would push ahead with legislation to curb Trump’s power to act unilaterally.”

He also denied President Trump’s claims that Greenland is necessary to be owned by the U.S. for national security reasons.

“Are there real, pressing threats to the security of Greenland from China and Russia?” Coons said. “No, not today.”

READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend

 

Image via Reuters 

Continue Reading

News

Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota

Published

on

Just one day after threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, which would allow him to unleash domestic military forces onto American streets, President Donald Trump once again on Friday hinted he would do so while suggesting he may be “forced” to take action.

Trump targeted Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, claiming they “don’t know what to do” after he deployed roughly 3,000 federal troops to the city.

“In Minnesota,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “the Troublemakers, Agitators, and Insurrectionists are, in many cases, highly paid professionals.”

“The Governor and Mayor don’t know what to do, they have totally lost control, and our currently being rendered, USELESS! If, and when, I am forced to act, it will be solved, QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY!”

The Guardian labeled Trump’s claims that protesters are paid as baseless.

Attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick wrote: “Note that the Trump admin hasn’t yet been able to produce evidence of a SINGLE ‘paid protestor.’ They’ve had total control of the FBI and the DOJ and ICE HSI and yet despite all of that, they can’t even find ONE person who they can accuse of being paid to protest.”

Separately, The Steady State, a group of over 365 former national security officials, while not referring to Trump’s remarks from Friday morning, noted that the Insurrection Act is “an extraordinary power meant for true emergencies, not a shield for unconstitutional policing. Using it to silence dissent or justify unlawful paramilitary activity at the hand of ICE undermines the rule of law.”

READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend

 

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.