NBC hiring a Donald Trump stooge is the worst franchise addition since Jar Jar Binks

There won’t be an NBC News staff party to welcome Ronna McDaniel.

If anything, her tires may get slashed in the parking lot. There hasn’t been a more unpopular franchise addition since Jar Jar Binks. But in this galaxy, it’s a stars war.

McDaniel is the former chair of the Republican National Committee. She was forced out this month after Donald Trump thrust a shiv between her shoulder blades. McDaniel was replaced by co-chairs, including Lara Trump, a woman with zero political experience.

On her way to the unemployment line, McDaniel was intercepted by NBC execs.

They offered her a job as a political analyst. It’s a head-scratcher. McDaniel was big on election denialism and small on attempted coups. She functioned as a Trump flunky and bowed to his every demand, including dropping “Romney” from her name.

There is media value in offering a diversity of opinions. Bret Stephens is one of the best columnists at the liberal New York Times and he checks many conservative boxes. Some of the sharpest political commentary on CNN comes from conservatives such as Adam Kinzinger and Scott Jennings. The most brilliant pundit on conservative Fox is liberal Jessica Tarlov, though to be fair a bag of oranges could beat Jesse Watters in a debate.

NBC was trying to diversify its roster. The plan backfired spectacularly.

The hiring of Ronna McDaniel has triggered an insurrection at NBC News.

I can’t recall ever seeing so many in the media publicly attack their own employer. In the media, we normally just attack our employers in private during Happy Hour.

But since Friday, Chuck Todd, Joe Scarborough, Nicolle Wallace, Rachel Maddow, Jen Psaki, Lawrence O’Donnell, Mika Brzezinski, Joy Reid and NBC News and MSNBC stars are spitting venom at their bosses for adding McDaniel to the payroll. It’s like going to McDonald’s and hearing the staff grumble: “I can’t believe these idiots brought back the McRib. What a disgrace!”

On Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” Mr. Todd told anchor Kristen Welker their overlords owed her an apology after she interviewed McDaniel. He also said McDaniel spent years “gaslighting” and engaging in “character assassination.”

Maddow called the hiring “inexplicable.” She encouraged her bosses to admit they made a mistake and reverse course. Psaki also did not pull any punches on Monday: “Our democracy is in danger because of the lies that people like Ronna McDaniel have pushed on this country.”

So the brain trust at NBC News has put itself in a headlock. They just hired an on-air contributor whom the on-air talent view as roughly equivalent to the BTK Strangler. What’s next? Will the flagship “Nightly News” get retooled with new host Steve Bannon?

The problem is not that NBC wants to add conservative voices during an election year. That makes sense. The problem is McDaniel. She spent the last seven years in dutiful servitude to Darth Trumper. She was complicit in trying to overturn the 2020 election.

She parroted his lies and waged war on truth, reality and, yes, the media.

So no, NBC should not provide any tumble-dry machines for any reputational laundering, especially after McDaniel has ridiculed their stars for years. Get real. If I had a long history of badmouthing shrubs, I would not expect to ever get hired by Sheridan Nurseries.

The media needs more conservative voices. The media does not need lying liars who played fast and loose with the foundational precepts of democracy because they didn’t have the intellectual and moral courage to stand up to a narcissist.

McDaniel was willing to ditch her uncle Mitt Romney for power and glory in Trumpville. That speaks to character. It’s like when Kellyanne Conway sided with Trump over her husband, George Conway, a Trump critic.

Unsurprisingly, that marriage is over.

This does not mean McDaniel should be “cancelled.” It just means she has no rightful place in a serious news organization. Give her a cooking show: “MAGA Macaroni.” Put her on “Dancing With the Stars.” Let her test her punditry prowess with a podcast about petunias.

Just don’t add her name to any list that includes David Brinkley or Tom Brokaw.

In response to the internal warfare playing out in public this week, NBC managers sent internal memos reminding producers they are free to book or not book any guests. Does this mean McDaniel was a paid on-air contributor who would never be on air? That’s like hiring a clown to make balloon animals at a party when you don’t have kids.

You screwed up, NBC. Admit it, ditch her, move on.

Then thank your staff for the tough love.

Unlike Ronna McDaniel, they care about journalism.

UPDATE: On Tuesday evening, NBC cut ties with Ronna McDaniel after the internal backlash. As Cesar Conde, chairman of NBC News, told staff in a memo: “After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor. No organization, particularly a newsroom, can succeed unless it is cohesive and aligned. Over the last few days, it has become clear that this appointment undermines that goal.”