Looks like the last two days of on-air temper tantrums by MSNBC hosts have paid off. According to Puck News founding partner and senior correspondent Dylan Byers, NBC News executives already plan to remove former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor.
Just after 1 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, Byers tweeted: “NBC NEWS plans to drop ex RNC-chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor following on-air revolt from NBC/MSNBC talent. Execs are deliberating over details; announcement pending. Meanwhile, McDaniel is seeking legal representation.”
By “on-air revolt,” Byers was referring to Monday’s outpouring of sanctimony by MSNBC hosts Joy Reid, Mika Brzezinski, Nicolle Wallace, Rachel Maddow, and others. We’ve put together a compilation of the highlights from yesterday:
The unanimous outrage from on-air talent reportedly forced MSNBC head Rashida Jones to announce that the cable network’s hosts would not be required to have McDaniel on their shows. But that didn’t put a stop to the tirades.
Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski slammed McDaniel as “an anti-democracy election denier,” and urged the network to “reconsider its decision.” Her co-host Joe Scarborough added: “We weren’t asked our opinion of the hiring, but if we were, we would have strongly objected to it.”
Hours later on Deadline: White House, host Nicolle Wallace was aghast that the network would even consider allowing an “election denier” onto “our sacred airwaves.” That evening, Longtime MSNBC prognosticator Rachel Maddow spent several agonizing minutes listing all the reasons she objected:
The fact that Ms. McDaniel is on the payroll at NBC News, to me, that is inexplicable. You wouldn’t — you wouldn’t — you wouldn’t hire, like, a wise guy. You wouldn’t hire a made man, like a mobster, to work at a DA’s office, right? You wouldn’t hire a pickpocket to work as a TSA screener.
Apparently the mere presence of a Trump-endorsed former RNC head is all it takes to cause a riot over at MSNBC these days.
