Ronna McDaniel, who was pushed out as chair of the Republican National Committee last month, will now be an on-air political analyst for NBC News, the network announced Friday.
The move means McDaniel will join the same NBC and MSNBC programs she’s spent the last half decade skewering, including calling its analysts “primetime propagandists” less than a year ago.
McDaniel will be a rare conservative voice at the left-leaning network, which Trump and other far-right Republicans have decried as being an arm of the Democratic Party.
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In an internal memo announcing the hire, obtained by The New York Times, NBC execs said McDaniel will feature in campaign coverage and on election nights. She’ll make her network debut on Sunday, appearing on Meet the Press.
Carrie Budoff Brown, who oversees NBC News’ political coverage, wrote to staff that McDaniel will bring “an insider’s perspective on national politics and the future of the Republican Party.”
McDaniel, only the second woman to serve as RNC chair, was a steadfast defender of Trump during his presidency, having been hand-picked as chairwoman in 2017 after she delivered him electoral victory in Michigan in 2016. The pair’s relationship appeared to sour in the fallout of the U.S. Capitol attack, however, despite her presiding over an RNC resolution to censure former Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) for their work on a House committee investigating the riot.
Reports emerged from Trump’s camp late last year that suggested he was peeved that McDaniel pushed for multiple Republican presidential primary debates against his wishes.
McDaniel resigned from the RNC last month as it became clear Trump had a takeover planned. He executed just that in March, as his most fervent loyalists were voted into the committee’s top posts, including his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who was installed as co-chair.
McDaniel has remained quiet since her resignation. Her appearance on Sunday will be her first public comments since she left the RNC.
NBC has recently made a habit of hiring people formerly involved in partisan politics. Since Joe Biden was elected, the network has hired Jen Psaki, Biden’s first press secretary, and Symone D. Sanders, a former spokesperson for Kamala Harris, for on-air roles.
“NBC News has a legacy of serving its audience through reporting that reflects and examines the diverse perspectives of American voters,” wrote Brown in her memo to staff, adding, “This variety of voices builds on our rigorous reporting and helps bring audiences and voters closer to the thinking and decision making within our halls of power.”
