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Joining a chorus of dissent, Maddow’s Monday monologue highlighted widespread concern at NBC and MSNBC over adding the former RNC chairwoman to the payroll. McDaniel has since been sacked.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow gave a powerful monologue on her MSNBC show following NBC News’s announcement on Monday that the network hired former Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel as a political analyst. By Tuesday evening, McDaniel was out at the network.
Maddow meticulously detailed McDaniel’s involvement in actions she said were antithetical to the foundational principles of American governance, particularly highlighting McDaniel’s role in the 2020 election aftermath and the broader implications of undermining trust in electoral processes.
“The person who was the head of the Republican Party during Donald Trump’s time in office … is Rona Romney McDaniel, and she pitched in and helped,” Maddow said of McDaniel’s involvement in spreading election lies. She elaborated on McDaniel’s efforts to support Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud, directly linking her to the orchestration of sending fake electors to Congress — a move Maddow noted was part of an “ongoing project to get rid of our system of government.”
“She helped set in motion the part of the plot that involved sending fake Trump electors to Congress from states that Trump did not win so Republicans in Washington could use those fake fraudulent elector slates to contend that maybe Trump did win those states, even though he didn’t,” Maddow explained.
The hiring of McDaniel by NBC News quickly escalated into a public spectacle as prominent network personalities criticized the decision on air, a rare occurrence within the industry. This backlash was not limited to Maddow; Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Nicolle Wallace, and others also expressed their dismay. The public outcry began Sunday when former Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd criticized executives at the media giant for putting Kristen Welker, the current show host, in an impossible position, having booked McDaniel as a guest without letting Welker know that she had been added to NBC’s payroll.
Maddow appealed to the responsibility of journalists, the judiciary, elected officials, and citizens to defend the democratic system. She highlighted the press’s resilience and duty in the face of attacks and attempts to undermine its credibility.
“In the press, we do not take it personally when we get attacked, when they say they want to put us on trial and execute us for treason. We don’t take it personally, but we do defend ourselves as an institution, not because we’re personally offended by the way that we’re treated, but because a free and uncowed press is necessary for our democracy,” Maddow said.
She continued, “A free and uncowed press is part of our system of government. We stand up for ourselves as a way of standing up for our country and for our Constitution, the First Amendment, which makes it possible for us to exist at all.”
She said the danger posed by those trying to erode trust in the electoral process, emphasizing that undermining elections is a critical aspect of a broader strategy to diminish faith in democracy and pave the way for authoritarian rule. Maddow emphasized this point by reflecting on historical attempts to install a strongman government, stressing the unique challenge posed by individuals who, backed by major political institutions, have gone further in their anti-democratic endeavors than any before, primarily due to their ability to co-opt these institutions to their cause. “And so I want to associate myself with all my colleagues, both at MSNBC and at NBC News, who have voiced loud and principled objections to our company putting on the payroll 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,” Maddow said.
She also revealed that the MSNBC staff’s unanimous and immediate outrage led to a decisive response from the network’s leadership. “When the hiring was announced and MSNBC staff essentially unanimously and instantly expressed outrage, our leadership at MSNBC heard us, understood, and adjusted course,” Maddow explained. She clarified the outcome with certainty: “We were told this weekend in clear terms [that] Ronna McDaniel will not be on our air. Ronna McDaniel will not be on MSNBC.” Maddow added, “I can assure you that is what happened at MSNBC. Ronna McDaniel will not appear on MSNBC. So says our boss since Saturday, and it has never been anything other than clear.”
She emphasized the existential threat posed by disseminating falsehoods about election integrity and the subsequent erosion of public trust in democratic institutions. “We are contending with something we’ve never had to contend with before in the news business … but part of our resilience as a democracy is going to be recognizing when decisions are bad ones and reversing those bad decisions,” Maddow explained, urging a reassessment of McDaniel’s hiring in light of these broader concerns.
Maddow implored NBC executives to reconsider their decision, framing it as an opportunity to demonstrate strength by admitting the error. “Take a minute, acknowledge that maybe it wasn’t the right call. It is a sign of strength, not weakness, to acknowledge when you’re wrong,” she said.
Apparently, their ears were listening, as McDaniel was ousted just a day after Maddow's comments.
“There is no doubt that the last several days have been difficult for the News Group,” NBCUniversal News Group President Cesar Conde said in a memo to staff, according to CNN. “After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor.”
He added, "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."
The outlet reported that McDaniel spent Tuesday speaking lawyers about a potential legal challenge against NBC.
In the wake of the news that McDaniel had been let go, Maddow said, “I think it is a show of strength and a show of respect for the people who work at this company and make us who we are,” and added, “That leadership was willing to change on this, I’m grateful to them.”
Watch Rachel Maddow discuss NBC’s hiring of Ronna McDaniel below.
Maddow joins colleagues in objecting to McDaniel for legitimizing Trump, attacking democracywww.youtube.com
Alex Cooper contributed reporting.
