Chuck Todd Gave NBC the Hardest Read on Television

Chuck Todd might be an unlikely candidate to cast shade—but over the weekend the former Meet the Press host proved he hasn’t lost his edge.

On Sunday, Todd seemed more than a little pressed over NBC’s choice to hire former RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel as an on-air contributor. McDaniel made her first appearance since the announcement on Meet the Press, though the interview, moderator Kristen Welker disclosed, was booked weeks before her hiring.

Todd, sitting on the analysis panel, let her—and the network—have it while live on air.

“Our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation,” he told Welker. “I don’t know what to believe, she is now a paid contributor by NBC News… She has credibility issues she still has to deal with, is she speaking for herself or is she speaking on behalf of who’s paying her?”

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Reacting to the moment on this week’s The New Abnormal, co-host Danielle Moodie said, “It is rare times when I can agree with Chuck Todd, and Chuck Todd gives the hardest read on television on this topic.” She added mainstream media should effectively stop hiring Trump admin alumni altogether due to their lack of credibility.

“If you have Trump administration on your resume, you should be as good as done,” she said.

Then, Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAAD, joins us to talk about how her organization is fighting for equality after a “contentious few years.”

A lot of politicians, she says, “are using the community as a wedge issue to bolster their careers and create fear and try and get elected or raise money. Our job at GLAAD has been to counter that narrative.”

Fox News Buried Its Own Exclusive Mike Pence Story to Benefit Trump

Plus! According to author Mark Jacob, some journalists seem bored by the biggest story of our lifetimes. He joins co-host Andy Levy to discuss a recent piece he wrote on the issue, on his Stop the Presses Substack.

Listen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.

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