The backlash against NBC News‘ hiring of former Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Ronna McDaniel continued Tuesday with a MoveOn.org petition that gathered more than 60,000 signatures in its first 24 hours online.
“Ronna McDaniel, former RNC chair, worked with Trump to sabotage the 2020 election and refuses to acknowledge that the election was fair, sowing doubt and feeding conspiracies,” says the MoveOn.org petition created Monday morning. “NBC must reverse its decision to hire McDaniel as a political commentator for the network.”
That petition echoes the sentiments of many of McDaniel’s new colleagues.
McDaniel made her network debut on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday. Moderator Kristen Welker, who claimed she hadn’t been made aware of McDaniel’s deal with the network before their discussion, interviewed her on the program, grilling her about her past actions. Former “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd also appeared on the show Sunday and told Welker “Our bosses owe you an apology” for putting her in that situation.
Todd said his issue with McDaniel is about credibility and behavior rather than politics.
“This is about whether honest journalists are supposed to lend their credibility to someone who intentionally tried to ruin ours,” he later posted on X.
During Welker’s interview, McDaniel tried justifying her amplification of lies surrounding the outcome of the 2020 presidential election by saying it was her job as RNC chair to “take one for the whole team.”
She now admits Joe Biden won the presidency “fair and square.”
NBC’s cable news counterpart MSNBC has reportedly taken a stance against McDaniel appearing on the channel. That includes the popular morning show “Morning Joe,” whose hosts urged NBC News Monday to reconsider its relationship with the would-be pundit.
“Election deniers should not be being platformed as trustworthy sources,” MoveOn.org’s petition states. “It’s both irresponsible and wrong to reward her with this role.”
Variety reported NBC executives planned to meet Tuesday to discuss McDaniel’s fate. The network hasn’t returned a request for comment regarding McDaniel’s hire or the petition.
MoveOn.org describes itself as “a progressive public policy advocacy group and political action committee.”
The organization hopes to gather 70,000 signatures for its campaign against McDaniel, which is addressed specifically to NBC News president of editorial Rebecca Blumenstein.
