Newsmax Media CEO Christopher Ruddy attends a dinner with President Donald Trump and business leaders in Bedminster, N.J., in 2018.
AFP via Getty Images
Despite rumors to the contrary, don’t expect Newsmax TV to become an outlet for President Donald Trump, the conservative news outlet’s chief executive said Sunday.
“Newsmax would never become ‘Trump TV,’” Newsmax Media Corp. CEO Christopher Ruddy said in an interview with Variety on Sunday night. “We have always seen ourselves as an independent news agency, and we want to continue with that mission.”
However, Ruddy said “we would be open to talking to [Trump] about a weekly show” after he’s left office. Newsmax has staunchly supported Trump, and has yet to call the election for Joe Biden.
Speculation about the future of Newsmax increased after a Wall Street Journal report published Sunday said allies of Trump have held talks about investing in and potentially acquiring the cable channel.
Ruddy told Variety the company wasn’t for sale, though he didn’t deny there has been interest from a number of investors and “strategic players.” Ruddy told Variety that the company’s goal is to overtake Fox News within the next year.
Newsmax’s ratings skyrocketed in the week of the election, according to Nielsen ratings, but still lagged far behind Fox News and other major cable news channels. But the smaller network is poaching Trump loyalists away from Fox News, which angered many Trump supporters by calling the race in Arizona for Joe Biden on election night.
Fox News corporate parent Fox Corp. FOX, +2.98% and MarketWatch parent News Corp. NWS, +3.55% share common ownership.
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