White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre suggested NBC News hiring former Republican National Committee (RNC) chairwoman Ronna McDaniel is an “attack on our democracy.”
CNN White House correspondent MJ Lee questioned the press secretary about McDaniel’s hiring given that the White House “has condemned lies about January 6 and the 2020 election.” She referred to McDaniel participating in a call to Michigan election officials during her time as RNC chair to pressure them to not certify votes casted for now-President Joe Biden in the Detroit area, according to CNN.
“What do you make of the network hiring somebody who participated in a phone call pressuring Michigan election officials not to certify certain votes?” Lee asked.
“So look, we’re always very mindful about personnel decisions and this instance, made by a media organization,” Jean-Pierre replied. “I’ll say a couple of things, and I’ll quote that president in a second. So you all heard him at the Grid Iron dinner very recently, about two weekends ago. He spoke directly about the critical role that journalists play, and they have in protecting our democracy by making sure that the public knows the truth. That the public knows the facts. And what he said is, ‘we need you. Democracy is at risk. And the American people need to know, in fractured times — they need a context and a perspective. They need substance to match the enormity of the task.’ It is a big task that journalists have, and we understand that.”
“And the facts and the truth are critical here. I’m not gonna make any comments on that person — on a personnel decision, but as more broadly speaking, it is important. It is a burden on all of us here, right, to be really mindful about that and that the public understands what the facts are and what the truth is,” she continued.
Lee pressed Jean-Pierre on whether the White House believed there was “room” for McDaniel “in the national political discourse.” Jean-Pierre raised the topic of the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, labeling it “an attack on our democracy” and calling on journalists to be “very clear” regarding “the truth.”
“Look, I’ll answer it this way. We saw what happened on January 6. We saw what happened when 2,000 people, a mob, went to the Capitol and undermined our democracy, attacked our democracy, because they didn’t believe in free and fair elections,” the press secretary continued. “And so we understand, and we saw that. And some of you may have been there — many of you reported it — and, it was an attack on our democracy. And it is important that we are very clear to the public about the facts, that we are very clear to the public about the truth and we understand the burden that you all have. And so, I just want to be super mindful —not commenting on a personnel decision — but more broadly speaking, that is where we are. That is where we are as a country.”
Liberal figures and longtime NBC News pundits raged at the network’s decision to hire McDaniel. Former “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd said it is unknown whether McDaniel is being sincere, and called on the network’s executives to apologize to his successor Kristen Welker for having her conduct a Sunday interview with the former RNC chairwoman. (RELATED: ‘The View’ Co-Host Sunny Hostin Calls NBC News’ Decision To Hire Ronna McDaniel ‘Despicable’)
MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski vowed that McDaniel will never be invited on “Morning Joe” as a guest over her Sunday remark arguing that Biden did not win the 2020 election fairly, though she did affirm that Biden is the legitimate president. Brzezinski called on NBC News to “reconsider its decision” on hiring McDaniel.