On Tuesday, NBC News ended its relationship with former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel after just five days due to intense internal backlash over the hire. The network’s News chairman, Cesar Conde, is taking responsibility.
In a memo sent to employees Tuesday, Conde says he approved McDaniel’s hiring, and ultimately made the decision to remove her from the outlet’s list of contributors.
“After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor. No organization, particularly a newsroom, can succeed unless it is cohesive and aligned. Over the last few days, it has become clear that this appointment undermines that goal,” Conde wrote. “I want to personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down. While this was a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team, I approved it and take full responsibility for it.”
McDaniel — who has also been dropped by the CAA talent agency — has reportedly been seeking legal representation to explore potential breach of contract litigation with the network.
NBC News announced the hiring of the former Republican leader on Friday, which led to scrutiny from staffers angered by McDaniel’s previous comments about the press and her role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
However, in her first paid appearance for the network, she told Meet the Press‘ Kristen Welker that Donald Trump did not win the election in 2020, and that the process was not rigged against him. It was the first time she publicly admitted those sentiments. She inferred that she felt a duty to back the former President’s claims as RNC chair, and will have more freedom as a political analyst at NBC News.
“Now, I get to be a little bit more myself,” she told Welker, before being lambasted by former moderator Chuck Todd for her lack of credibility.
After the appearance, several MSNBC hosts — including Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Nicolle Wallace, Rachel Maddow, and Lawrence O’Donnell — shared their extreme displeasure with the hiring, which ultimately led Cesar Conde to reverse course.