MSNBC Primetime Anchors Wanted to Attend Republican National Convention but Peacock Brass Vetoed Move: ‘Concerned About Security’
July 17 2024, Published 5:44 p.m. ET
Anchors away?
The brouhaha continues to brew over at MSNBC, as anchors say the Peacock network would not allow them to cover the Republican National Convention in person, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
A source told us: “The Peacock network is under siege. The top anchors all wanted to go to Milwaukee, but the network’s decision-makers didn’t think it was the right decision.”
The tipster added that behind the scenes they complained to their boss, Cesar Conde.
The insider claimed: “They think the network should have insisted they attend the convention and not be deterred by a perceived security threat or crowd unrest. Instead, they feel they’re integrity has been compromised.”
The bombshell revelation comes after several contentious issues surrounding MSNBC about perceived "security threats."
Joe Scarborough’s Morning Joe show was taken off the air on Monday following Saturday’s assassination attempt against Donald Trump.
CNN reported it was pulled because the network was fearful there might be a backlash if Scarborough had a guest on who made “inappropriate” comments about Trump in the wake of the shooting.
However, NBC denied the allegation. In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for NBCUniversal News Group said: “Given the gravity and complexity of this unfolding story, NBC News, NBC News NOW and MSNBC have remained in rolling breaking news coverage since Saturday evening.”
Scarborough has since challenged the statement. When his show returned on Tuesday, he addressed viewers directly and said: “We were told, in no uncertain terms on Sunday evening that there was going to be one news feed across all NBC news channels yesterday, and today’s show would be Lester Holt."
“That did not happen. We don’t know why that didn’t happen. Our team was not given a good answer as to why that didn’t happen.”
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While Scarborough was off the air Monday, fellow MSNBC host Joy Reid was not. During live studio coverage of the convention, Reid implied that Trump may have incited the assassination attempt against him.
She referenced the 2022 midterm elections where people were told to remain 250 feet away from some polling locations in Arizona, because there were men with masks and long guns intimidating voters.
Speaking with co-host Rachel Maddow, Reid declared: “The idea of political violence that we've been nursing really since then, is so dangerous. It’s so dangerous that you cannot avoid the consequences of it, even if you're one of the people promoting it.”
Adding to MSNBC’s woes, one of its reporters, Jacob Soboroff, got into a heated debate with Donald Trump Jr. on the convention floor. Don Jr. was with his siblings Eric and Tiffany when Soboroff asked him about his father’s immigration policies, and whether he would enact another family separation policy.
During his presidency, Trump enacted a “zero tolerance” policy for immigrants crossing the Southern border, and separated thousands of children from their parents.
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Don Jr. snapped back: “It’s MSDNC [sic], so I expect nothing less from you clowns.”
Then, referring to Saturday’s assassination attempt he said: “Even today, even 48 hours later. You couldn’t wait. You couldn’t wait with your lies and with your nonsense, so just get out of here.”