Media

Jon Meacham Reportedly No Longer Paid MSNBC Contributor After Secretly Helping With Biden’s Speeches

Screenshot YouTube TODAY, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTce5MQ_xyg

Shelby Talcott Senior White House Correspondent
Font Size:

Historian Jon Meacham is reportedly no longer a paid contributor for MSNBC after he quietly helped develop multiple speeches for President-elect Joe Biden, according to The New York Times.

Meacham failed to disclose that he had reportedly worked on some of Biden’s speeches and appeared on the network to discuss the Saturday acceptance speech that he helped develop.

“During the Trump years, Mr. Meacham had also been a regular presence on MSNBC and NBC News broadcasts,” the NYT reported. “But as of Monday, he was not a paid contributor at the network, according to two people familiar with the decision. Mr. Meacham was expected to return to NBC as an unpaid guest and could resume his paid role next year, possibly after the inauguration, the people said.”

Meacham’s role in Biden’s speeches are “larger … than was previously known,” the NYT reported. Biden spokesman TJ Ducklo, however, appeared to downplay Meacham’s role.

“President-elect Joe Biden wrote the speech he delivered to the American people on Saturday night, which laid out his vision for uniting and healing the nation,” according to Ducklo. “Given the significance of the speech, he consulted a number of important and diverse voices as part of his writing process, as he often does.”

Meacham is also a historian and previously worked as the editor-in-chief of Newsweek. He also publicly endorsed Biden in an op-ed for The Washington Post and spoke during this year’s Democratic National Convention.

The NYT at first failed to report that Meacham was a paid contributor for MSNBC, later editing the article to include additional information. (RELATED: MSNBC Contributor Jon Meacham Reportedly Helping Write Biden’s Speeches)