Ronna McDaniel’s New Job Ignites a Firestorm

Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel’s new job has sparked a firestorm from both the right and left.

NBC News announced Friday that McDaniel was joining the network as an on-air contributor following her resignation as head of the RNC earlier this month. Her departure came after she faced growing pressure from presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump to step down.

But her decision to join NBC News has ignited criticism from conservatives, who accused her of trying to “help Democrats,” as well as from progressives, who blasted the network for hiring her.

“Former Chair of the RNC, Ronna McDaniel has joined NBC News as its newest contributor, because of course,” Charlie Kirk, the conservative founder of Turning Point USA, wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “Congratulations to Ronna on the dream job she always wanted.”

“Ronna McDaniel joining MSNBC is just an extension of her years-long work to help Democrats,” former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis said.

The network also took heat for hiring McDaniel. Several observers pointed to comments that she made about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, suggesting that NBC News was giving her a platform to push inflammatory claims months before November’s election.

“MSNBC just hired Ronna McDaniel — an election-denying, racist, pro-fascist, homophobic pathological liar — as their latest political contributor/commentator. In other words, they will pay her to lie for Trump during an election year. MSNBC is not a legitimate news organization,” political commentator Dash Dobrofsky tweeted.

Journalist Aaron Rupar wrote: “MSNBC does a lot of good work but NBC hiring Ronna McDaniel is exactly why I’m grateful to be independent. I can say (accurately!) that it’s a disgraceful move without having to worry about my job.”

Newsweek reached out to NBC News via email for comment.

One user likened hiring McDaniel as a political commentator to “hiring Jeffrey Dahmer as dietary adviser.” Another asked why the network canceled former host Mehdi Hasan’s two shows last year and was now hiring McDaniel to join.

“NBC and MSNBC hired coup participant Ronna McDaniel as a commentator. She had direct conversations w/ Trump, Eastman and Michigan GOP chair Laura Cox about arranging fake electors,” another X user wrote. “She could conceivably still be charged w/ a crime, She’s a nonstop liar and propaganda machine about coup events. Heads should roll at NBC.”

Ron Filipkowsky said he “never thought anyone could get channels to change faster than a Rick Santorum hit on CNN, but MSNBC will challenge those records with Ronna McDaniel’s appearances as a commentator.”

Santorum was a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania who unsuccessfully ran for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. He joined CNN in January 2017, a year after a second failed White House bid.

McDaniel is the latest Republican to join NBC’s slate of commentators. Marc Short, who previously served as chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, and Brendan Buck, a former congressional aide, also frequent the network.

In a statement announcing McDaniel’s new role, Carrie Budoff Brown, who heads NBC News’ politics and elections reporting, said, “It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team.”

Brown added that McDaniel has an “insider’s perspective” on national politics.

McDaniel’s first appearance on the air will be this Sunday on Meet the Press. It will be her first interview since she left the RNC. After she was pushed out by Trump, Michael Whatley, an ally of the former president, and daughter-in-law Lara Trump were unanimously elected as RNC chair and co-chair, respectively, with Trump’s endorsement.