The revolving door between American politics and the media only becomes an issue when the wannabe gatekeepers don’t like who comes through. The mean girls of ABC’s The View had their knives out for former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel on Monday after she was hired by NBC News to be a commentator. And their infamous hypocrisy was on full display as they decried her for doing what many of their friends did to get into the business, including some of the cast members themselves.
Following a clip of NBC chief political analyst Chuck Todd melting down on Meet the Press over the weekend, faux conservative Ana Navarro lacked self-awareness when she decried McDaniel as “a shapeshifter” who “says and does what's convenient for her to say and do when it's convenient.”
Navarro commended Todd for being “very right” for “calling into question on the air” the decision of NBC to hire McDaniel. She then proved just how part of the swamp she was by bragging about being personal friends with the boss of NBCUniversal News Group and scolding him:
The head of NBC News is a good friend of mine from Miami, Cesar Conde. I've known him for over 20 years. I think this was a mistake because you're allowing somebody who was part of the machine – right? -- a figurehead, a household name, reinvent herself. And I do think that there's credibility issues, and it's up to the hosts, the journalists, the staff, the viewers to make it known if they are unhappy about it.
Her comment about McDaniel being a “household name” was also evidence of just how far removed Navarro was from average Americans, who didn’t make their money spewing hate about political figures on TV.
And speaking of former Trump supporters who were allowed to “reinvent herself” (as Navarro whined), useless Republican Alyssa Farah Griffin refused to mention criticism of NBC’s ethically dubious hire of former Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who was fielding questions from NBC reporters when it was publically know she was destined to get a show on the network.
Psaki was even taking questions from then-White House correspondent Kristen Welker, who Farah Griffin praised as “an incredible journalist.”
And as if there weren’t already enough Never Trump Republicans at NBC and MSNBC, Farah Griffin suggested that they hire more people like her:
I feel very strongly, obviously, that there needs to be Republican representation in media. We represent 50 percent of the country, but there are incredible Republicans who never dabbled in this dangerous lie that Joe Biden didn't legitimately win the election who would be far better served for NBC, could offer the same expertise, but with more credibility. I think if people like Chris Christie, Chris Krebs, Sarah Matthews, Mick Mulvaney, Will Hurd.
“There were other sketchy things that happened, and [McDaniel] was a direct part of it. You know, I think, when journalism is shrinking, especially on linear television, to pay a woman like that $300,000 is obscene,” kvetched staunchly racist and anti-Semitic co-host, Sunny Hostin (the descendant of slave owners).
Psaki had her own sketchy history that Hostin didn’t want to mention. When she was the spokeswoman for the Obama State Department, video was deleted of her getting called out and admitting to misleading the press (and thus the American people) about President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran.
Co-host Sara Haines agreed that the media did “need to represent more voices” but added that “you cannot have election deniers being given these types of roles in major network news.” Meanwhile, The View welcomed and defended election deniers like White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre who tried to cast doubt on the fact former President Trump won the 2016 election. Moderator Whoopi Goldberg defended Jean-Pierre, by proclaiming she was “doing her part.”
In, fact, Hostin admitted that she herself pushed election denialism in the same episode. Goldberg defended her too: “But that's how you felt! You had every right to say it!”
Of course, this was all said on ABC News. The same network that took President Clinton’s former hatchetman George Stephanopoulos and turned him into their chief news anchor.
And around and around the revolving door went.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
March 25, 2024
11:18:10 a.m. Eastern(…)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: So I leave it to y'all. What do you think?
ANA NAVARRO: Look. I think she's a shapeshifter and she says and does what's convenient for her to say and do when it's convenient.
She's from Michigan where the name Romney, which is her name; she used to use -- when she was in Michigan, she was a Romney. When she became the RNC chair and it was under Trump, who didn't like Romney, she took out the word – the name Romney. When it was convenient for her to amplify things that Donald Trump was saying, to amplify the conspiracy theories, to gaslight journalists, to malign journalists, she did that. Now that she's on NBC, she's changed her tune.
So, I think that Chuck Todd is very right in calling into question on the air – and by the way, kudos to NBC for having Chuck Todd -- that Chuck Todd had the freedom or felt he had the freedom to say that on the air just following that.
The head of NBC News is a good friend of mine from Miami, Cesar Conde. I've known him for over 20 years. I think this was a mistake because you're allowing somebody who was part of the machine – right? -- a figurehead, a household name, reinvent herself. And I do think that there's credibility issues, and it's up to the hosts, the journalists, the staff, the viewers to make it known if they are unhappy about it.
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Kudos to Kristen Welker, who didn’t – We didn't see all the interview, but she did a great job challenging her. She's an incredible journalist.
And one point in that interview Ronna McDaniel starts talking about all these election officials who felt intimidated because they didn't want to certify the election. What she failed to mention is the countless of us who told the truth about the election and faced intimidation and harassment; and people with a lot more power than myself like Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman and Rusty Bowers, who we know of, who simply did their job to move forward with the election and had their lives torn apart because of it.
I feel very strongly, obviously, that there needs to be Republican representation in media. We represent 50 percent of the country, but there are incredible Republicans who never dabbled in this dangerous lie that Joe Biden didn't legitimately win the election who would be far better served for NBC, could offer the same expertise, but with more credibility. I think if people like Chris Christie, Chris Krebs, Sarah Matthews, Mick Mulvaney, Will Hurd.
To give her this platform when she was such a contributor. She hosted that insane RNC press conference where they blamed Hugo Chavez, who is no longer with us, for stealing the election. Like, there's such a credibility factor, and I think it was a mistake.
[Crosstalk]
SARA HAINES: NBC said -- sorry, Sunny. When they announced the hire, they said, we do need to represent more voices. I agree with that, but you cannot have election deniers being given these types of roles in major network news. She was someone that, you know, continues to actually plant, while saying she believes President Biden was elected fairly, also kind of toeing the line with some stories about things that weren't right. And when you have 60 court case that is say there was no evidence otherwise, you have to -- questioning an election is fine. Denying every result that proves you wrong is not fine.
So, I think that the only sketchy thing that happened in the election was when the former President asked the secretary of state of Georgia to find 11,000 votes. So, let's come clean on what was sketchy about the election and she should not have gotten [inaudible] –
SUNNY HOSTIN: There were other sketchy things that happened, and she was a direct part of it. You know, I think, when journalism is shrinking, especially on linear television, to pay a woman like that $300,000 is obscene.
And let's remember that she was the person involved in the 2020 phone call to pressure Michigan county officials to not certify the vote from the Detroit area in particular. Detroit -- the Detroit population is 77.8 percent black. So, she was involved in actively suppressing -- or attempting to suppress the black vote. She also, as you mentioned, said while she was being interviewed by Kristen Welker – and I think there could have been more pushback, but she said, but there were problems with the vote.
So, she is still pushing the same exact narrative. She is being rewarded for basically trying to take away the votes of Americans. And I think it's a despicable decision, and Joe and Mika -- Joe Scarborough just this morning said, and Mika said, we hope NBC reconsiders its decision. And I hope they do as well.
NAVARRO: Yeah and, you know, one of the things that Chuck Todd says is sometimes we hire folks like this for access, and I don't know what access she has because --
HOSTIN: She got thrown out of the RNC.
NAVARRO: Trump threw her out of the RNC and replaced her with an even bigger sycophant. Right? His daughter-in-law. And most of the people who worked with Ronna McDaniel – Ronna Romney McDaniel (…) have gotten thrown out as well. So, I’s not sure what access does she have other than $300,000?
GOLDBERG: Well, I'm sure this isn't the end of that story. So, we'll -- when we know more, we'll come back and talk more about it, but not right now because now we're going to break.
