Former President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Tuesday to mock Ronna McDaniel after NBC News terminated her contract as a paid contributor, just days after announcing her hiring. The decision to oust McDaniel came amid a growing internal uproar across the company, with multiple NBC contributors highlighting her role in Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election and her past statements questioning the integrity of the election results.
"Wow! Ronna McDaniel got fired by Fake News NBC. She only lasted two days, and this after McDaniel went out of her way to say what they wanted to hear," Trump wrote. "It leaves her in a very strange place, it's called NEVER NEVERLAND, and it's not a place you want to be."
The former president, who has routinely criticized both McDaniel and NBC News, went on to label the network's executives as "Radical Left Lunatics" and "WEAK," claiming they were "BROKEN and EMBARRASSED by LOW RATINGS, HIGHLY OVERPAID, 'TALENT.'" He concluded his post by calling for a return to a "FREE AND FAIR PRESS."
McDaniel, who stepped down as head of the Republican National Committee earlier this year amid pressure from Trump and his allies, faced a barrage of criticism from NBC's own talent on the air following the announcement of her hiring. Anchors and contributors, including Chuck Todd and Rachel Maddow, lambasted the decision, with Maddow dedicating 29 minutes of her show on Monday to call McDaniel's hiring "inexplicable" and likening it to the hiring of a "mobster to work at the DA's office."
In a note to NBC staff on Tuesday, NBCUniversal News Group Chair Cesar Conde apologized for bringing McDaniel on board and explained that the 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."
Conde announced McDaniel's firing, stating, "There is no doubt that the last several days have been difficult for the News Group. After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor."
Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which helped broker the deal to bring McDaniel on as a political analyst for the network, also cut ties with her on Tuesday, according to Variety. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
McDaniel's brief stint at NBC News, which was slated to pay her more than six figures annually, ended abruptly as she was reportedly exploring legal options in the event the network terminated its agreement with her. The backlash to her hiring was widespread, with several prominent hosts and contributors expressing their frustration over the decision to bring on someone who had used her position as the RNC chair to spread falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election.
Chuck Todd, in a scathing critique just minutes after McDaniel made her debut on the network Sunday, questioned the decision, asking, "So when NBC made the decision to give her NBC News' credibility, you've got to ask yourself, 'What does she bring NBC News?'"
The controversy surrounding McDaniel's hiring and subsequent firing highlights the ongoing challenges faced by news organizations in navigating the political landscape, particularly when it comes to engaging with individuals who have played a role in spreading misinformation and undermining the democratic process. The incident also underscores the importance of maintaining journalistic integrity and the trust of both the public and the network's own talent.
