NBC News' Kristen Welker clashes with Ronna McDaniel over Trump, RNC tenure in heated interview
NBC News' Kristen Welker clashed with former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel during an interview on Sunday after the network hired McDaniel to be a contributor.
Former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel clashed with NBC News host Kristen Welker on Sunday during a contentious interview after she was hired by NBC to be a contributor.
Welker questioned McDaniel's support for Trump as the head of the RNC during the heated interview, and asked if McDaniel enabled the former president to "spread election lies." Liberals, including many figures within NBC, have lambasted the network for hiring McDaniel, calling the move "appalling."
McDaniel argued there were concerns about the election in 2020 and said she had to see them through at the time, but added that Biden was fairly elected president.
"I think it's fair to say there were concerns then, but no, Biden is the president, and we need to move forward and this is important for our country," she said.
"Meet The Press" host Kristen Welker and former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel clashed in McDaniel's first interview since being hired as an NBC News analyst. (Screenshot/NBC)
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"I think what people struggle with is, by the time Jan. 6 happened, all of those court cases, more than 60 court cases had already been litigated. Donald Trump had lost, the Supreme Court said they’re not going to take up concerns; as the head of the RNC, did you not have a responsibility to say Joe Biden won?" Welker asked.
McDaniel argued that she had said that Biden won.
"At the time? At the time, before January 6th? Before January 6th, and you're still saying there are concerns this morning as you sit here," Welker said.
"Saying there's concerns about the election doesn't mean he didn't win, and that's the only thing I'm going to say," McDaniel responded.
Ronna McDaniel joins NBC News' Kristen Welker for an interview on March, 24, 2024. (Screenshot/NBC)
"Do you, to the people who feel like you enabled Donald Trump and his lies about the election, do you owe people an apology? Do you owe this country an apology?" Welker pressed.
McDaniel said she looked back after elections to make sure it was done in a "transparent and fair way," and condemned the January 6th riot at the Capitol.
Welker also pressed McDaniel to admit Biden had won the election "fair and square," after playing a clip of an interview from 2023, during which she did she said the race was not fair.
"Can you say, as you sit here today, did Joe Biden win the election fair and square?" Welker asked.
Then-Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel is seen here speaking before a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by NBC News on Nov. 8, 2023, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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"He won, he’s the legitimate president," McDaniel responded. Welker asked again if Biden had won fair and square.
"Fair and square, he won, it's certified, it's done," she said, as Welker questioned why it took her so long to say this. "I’m going to push back a little, because I do think it’s fair to say there were problems in 2020, and to say that does not mean he’s not the legitimate president."
McDaniel resigned from her post at the RNC after Super Tuesday, as previously reported by Fox News Digital.
McDaniel will not appear on MSNBC despite the announcement Friday she would appear across NBC platforms.
Before the interview, Welker stressed to viewers she was uninvolved with McDaniel's hiring as an analyst and said it would be a "news" conversation. Afterwards during a panel discussion on "Meet The Press," Chuck Todd lambasted NBC for bringing on McDaniel and said Welker had been put in a difficult position, calling on network honchos to apologize.