Dem
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GOP
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Former RNC chair Ronna Romney McDaniel became unemployed 2 weeks ago. No doubt she spent the previous 2 weeks feverishly studying openings on LinkedIn and Craigslist. And bingo, she found a new gig. She is going to work as a pundit for NBC News. Her first appearance was yesterday on Meet the Press.
Did NBC make a good deal here? We don't know yet. On the one hand, she is an insider's insider and knows everything there is to know about the internal workings of the Republican Party and also of Donald Trump. She probably understands Trump better than any other person on the planet. She also understands the Republican voters better than anyone this side of Frank Luntz and Sarah Longwell.
If Trump does or says something weird, her take on what he is thinking could be invaluable. The big question is whether she will morph into an actual pundit and say what she really thinks or will stay in RNC mode and just parrot the Trump line. If the former is the case, she is worth every penny of what NBC is paying her; if the latter, she is not worth 10¢. There is nothing wrong with her being a Republican. NBC has other Republican contributors, including Mike Pence's chief of staff Marc Short. What matters is whether she intends to tell the truth to the viewers or just defend Trump through thick and thin. That may depend on where she sees her future. If it is in the media, then telling the truth is the best approach. If it is in Republican Party politics, then she will try her best to cover her rear end and not offend anyone in the party, which makes her fairly useless to NBC. We shall see.
Quite a few people at NBC are angry about McDaniel being hired and are not shy about saying this out loud. Former Meet the Press host Chuck Todd is one of them. He said: "Look, there's a reason why there's a lot of journalists at NBC News uncomfortable with this because many of our professional dealings with the RNC over the six years have been met with gaslighting, have been met with character assassination." MSNBC columnist Marisa Kabas said: "As columnists we are held to strict standards of factuality and truth, and are expected to have a fundamental understanding of our democracy. McDaniel has proven time and again she adheres to none of those values, and lacks that very basic understanding." Former MSNBC host Medhi Hasan tweeted: "McDaniel lied about the 2020 election result, was involved in a pressure campaign to get Michigan officials not to certify the vote, and has accused MSNBC of spreading lies and employing prime-time propagandists." It's a good thing the company Christmas party is 9 months off. When everyone gets together around the eggnog, she is not going to be the belle of the ball. (V)