The decision by NBC News to hire Ronna McDaniel, the former chair of the Republican National Committee, as a political commentator set off a round of sharp criticism from her new colleagues in recent days.
Leading on-air figures at NBC and its cable cousin, MSNBC, including Chuck Todd and Rachel Maddow, took the unusual step of condemning their bosses’ decision in public.
Those internal critics have said that by hiring Ms. McDaniel, the network was authorizing election denialism.
In the days after the 2020 election, Ms. McDaniel promoted some false theories pushed by then-President Donald J. Trump, including that votes had been miscounted in key battleground states, and she helped pressure election officials in one Michigan county to hold off from certifying the results.
But the uproar at the network has played out differently among many conservative commentators, who have argued that it shows how the journalists at NBC News are overwhelmingly liberal and intolerant of conservative views.
Persons:
Ronna McDaniel, Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow, McDaniel, Donald J, Trump, Biden, Todd, Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski
Organizations:
NBC News, Republican National Committee, NBC, MSNBC, Fox, Fox News
Locations:
Michigan