Rachel Maddow weighed in on NBC News’ hiring of Ronna McDaniel Monday night, calling on the network to “acknowledge when you are wrong” and “reverse” the decision to add the former Republican National Committee chair and Donald Trump ally to their payroll.
“This is a difficult time for us as a country, and I think that means we need to be clear-eyed about the implications of it,” the MSNBC host said.
Maddow’s lengthy segment, as shared to her personal X account, began by reflecting on the longstanding pertinence of the “strongman” in American politics who tells “us that we need a new system of government where everything’s under their control and politics is over.” And that prior to former President and 2024 Republican nominee Donald Trump, none have gained the political traction necessary to infiltrate the democratic system.
Without naming her explicitly at first, the MSNBC host in part blamed McDaniel for paving the way for Trump’s rise to power.
“We’ve had a lot of these guys. But our generation’s version of this guy has gotten a lot farther than all the rest of them. And why is that? He would’ve been as forgotten as all the rest of them had he not been able to attach himself to an institution like the Republican Party,” Maddow explained. “And had the leader of that party in his time not decided that she wouldn’t just abide him, she would help. She would help with the worst of it.”
In the next video, Maddow clarified that despite media reports to the contrary, MSNBC leadership has about-faced its initial support of McDaniel’s hiring and assured staffers since Saturday, following “outrage” from many network colleagues, that the Republican figure would not have a place on the network.
“Our leadership at MSNBC heard us, understood and adjusted course. We were told this weekend in clear terms Ronna McDaniel will not be on our air,” Maddow said. “Ronna McDaniel will not be on MSNBC. And I say that and give you that level of detail because there has been an effort since by other parts of the company to muddy that up in the press and make it seem like that’s not what happened at MSNBC. I can assure you, that is what happened at MSNBC. Ronna McDaniel will not appear on MSNBC, so says our boss since Saturday, and it has never been anything other than clear.”
She added that NBC News’ decision to add McDaniel as commentator was “inexplicable” — like hiring a “mobster” to work for the D.A.’s office or a pickpocket to work as a TSA screener.
“I hope they will reverse their decision,” she said, adding that “it’s not about Democratic Party-Republican Party. It’s not about partisanship. It’s not about right vs. left. It’s not about being a political professional vs. some other kind of person. It’s not about being mean or nice to journalists. It’s not about just being associated with Donald Trump and his time in the Republican Party. It’s not even about lying or not lying. It’s about our system of government and undermining elections and going after democracy as an ongoing project.”
Maddow concluded that “this is a difficult time for us as a country,” and that inevitably “mistakes will be made” in how various powers that be conduct themselves in the face of that hardship.
“But part of our resilience as a democracy is going to be us recognizing when decisions are bad ones and reversing those bad decisions,” she emphasized. “Hearing legitimate criticism, responding to it and correcting course. Not digging in, not blaming others. Take a minute, acknowledge that maybe it wasn’t the right call. It is a sign of strength, not weakness, to acknowledge when you are wrong. It is a sign of strength — and our country needs us to be strong right now.”
Watch clips from the “Rachel Maddow Show” segment in the video above
