The “Morning Joe” panel raged at the hiring of former Republican National Committee (RNC) chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, vowing she will not appear on their program.
McDaniel joined NBC News on Friday and will appear on MSNBC as an on-air contributor after her Feb. 6 resignation from the RNC. The “Morning Joe” panel has refused to have her on over her remarks on the 2020 presidential election during her debut appearance on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
“We weren’t asked our opinions of the hiring, but if we were, we would have strongly objected to it for several reasons, including but not limited to, as lawyers might say, Ms. McDaniel’s role in Mr. Trump’s fake electors scheme, and her pressuring election officials to not certify election results while Donald Trump was on the phone,” MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said.
.@Morning_Joe rages at the hiring of Ronna McDaniel at their own network @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/oLcl7qABID
— Nicole Silverio (@NicoleMSilverio) March 25, 2024
“To be clear — we believe NBC News should seek out conservative Republican voices to provide balance in their election coverage,” co-host Mika Brzezinski said. “But it should be conservative Republicans, not a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier and we hope NBC will reconsider its decision. It goes without saying that she will not be a guest on Morning Joe in her capacity as a paid contributor.” (RELATED: Chuck Todd Unleashes On NBC Hiring Ex-RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel Moments After Her Debut)
The panel justified its decision due to McDaniel telling Chris Wallace there were “a lot of problems” with the 2020 presidential election and how President Joe Biden did not win the 2020 presidential election fairly. She affirmed to Kristen Welker that Biden is the “legitimate” president and won the election.
Brzezinski called McDaniel’s remarks during her Sunday “Meet the Press” appearance “disgusting.”
Carrie Budoff Brown, the manager of NBC News’s political coverage, said McDaniel will provide “an insider’s perspective on national politics and the future of the Republican Party,” according to The New York Times.
“It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team,” Brown reportedly wrote in a memo.