"This feels like censorship," one insider said.
Following the attemped assassination of Donald Trump on Saturday, MSNBC took a break from its usual programming to air a live breaking news feed. The switch lasted until Monday afternoon, meaning shows such as Morning Joe were kept off air. The decision led many insiders at the network to accuse executives, namely NBC Universal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde and network president Rashida Jones, of attempting to prevent hosts who are critical of the former president from sounding off about the events that unfolded.
One source at MSNBC who chose to remain anonymous told TheWrap that they felt as though the move amounted to a "clearly deliberate coddling of Trump and his allies" in an attempt to "currying favor with the Trump camp." They claimed that there was "a level of disgust in the company I haven’t seen before" when the live coverage supplanted popular programs.
When Morning Joe returned to the air on Tuesday, co-host Joe Scarborough did not shy away from voicing his opinion. "Next time we're told there's going to be a news feed replacing us, we will be in our chairs," he declared, "and the news feed will be us or they can get somebody else to host this show."
A spokesperson for the network told TheWrap that "programming decisions were made entirely by the News Group," which is led by Conde and Jones, and impacted NBC News, MSNBC, Telemundo and NBC News Now. The spokesperson explained that the move was not intended to skew programming in favor of one candidate over the other, but was rather a "straightforward news decision." Nonetheless, other insiders maintained that executives' actions "without question” further eroded trust among those working there.
Another source brought up the fact that just months earlier, former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel had been brought on as a contributer to the left-leaning outlet. "That was just bad decision-making," they said. "This feels like censorship." McDaniel was forced out by pundits at the network who refused to work with her.
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