Topic: Newsmax
Like a loyal Trump shill, Newsmax has spent this year's primary elections touting Donald Trump's picks in Republican primaries and cheering every time they won. For instance:
- Trump Endorses Incumbent Mike Lee for Utah Senate in 2022
- Trump Tells Newsmax He's Endorsing Dr. Oz
- Trump's Backing Propels JD Vance to Victory in Ohio Primary
- Poll: Trump-Endorsed Walker Leads Warnock in Georgia Senate Race
- Trump Endorsement Streak Soars to 55-0
When Trump-backed Charles Herbster lost to his Republican primary opponent for Nebraska governor, John Gizzi went into spin mode in a May 11 article, blaming "dark money targeting of female urban voters" spent against him, a popular governor endorsing the winning candidate and, oh, the fact that "Herbster was hit with charges from seven women alleging the candidate had groped them."
Newsmax readjusted Trump's victory count going forward; a June 22 article by Eric Mack declared that "Katie Britt's victory over Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., on Tuesday night brought former President Donald Trump's record in Senate GOP primaries to 12-0," going on to hype that "Trump's perfect record to date is punctuated by some equally big victories in key battleground states." Mack then reframed previous Trump-backed losses, huffing that "Among the few losses of Trump-endorsed candidates were failed bids for the GOP gubernatorial nominations by some, Trump-admitted, tough sells." Then, on Aug. 5, Jack Gournell uncritically quoted Trump at a rally declaring he was at "45 winds and no losses" after primaries in Wisconsin; Gournell did not fact-check Trump's claim.
After the following week's primaries, Mack declared in a June 29 article that Trump "hailed a perfect 12-0 record in a Truth Social post," adding that "Trump's primary endorsement record is now, according to an unofficial Newsmax tally, 143-10, a 93.5% winning percentage (Trump officials count candidates advancing to a runoff as victories)."
And, of course, the endorsement-hyping continued:
- Trump Endorses Reps. Wilson, Duncan, Armstrong
- Trump Endorses Veteran Eli Crane in Arizona
- Trump Endorses Zach Nunn For Iowa's 3rd District
- Trump Endorses Congressman Markwayne Mullin
- Trump Endorses 3 Missouri GOP Reps Before Tuesday's Primary
- Trump Endorses Tudor Dixon Before Tuesday's Michigan GOP Gov. Primary
- Trump-Endorsed Sen. Jerry Moran Wins Kansas GOP Primary
- Michigan Republicans See Easy Wins, Mostly With Trump Backing
- Trump-Endorsed Tudor Dixon Wins Michigan GOP Governor Primary
There was one unusually discordant note, however; a July 23 article by Solange Reyner quoted a competing candidate claiming that "former President Donald Trump made a bad endorsement in backing opponent Blake Masters."
After the FBI's search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago, however -- after which Newsmax did much Trump-fluffing stenography -- Newsmax felt the need to hype the victories of Trump-endorsed candidates even more. Mack led things off in an Aug. 9 article:
Completing a sweep of the gubernatorial and congressional endorsements of former President Donald Trump, Tim Michels has won the coveted Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial primary Tuesday night, Decision Desk HQ projected.
DDHQ made the call in the hotly contested race at 11:37 p.m. ET, giving Trump a 6-0 sweep of his primary endorsements on the night.
"Congratulations to Tim Michels on his win against a wonderful and highly competitive opponent, Rebecca Kleefisch," Trump wrote Tuesday night on Truth Social. "I know both sides will come together and defeat one of the worst governors in the country, Tony Evers."
It was a proxy battle between Trump's endorsement and that of former Vice President Mike Pence's chosen candidate in the race.
These were followed by articles on individual Trump-endorsed candidates in other states winning:
- Trump-Endorsed Finstad Wins Minnesota House Seat, '22 Primary
- Trump-Backed Joe Kent Wins; GOP Rep. Beutler, Who Voted to Impeach Trump, Concedes
- Trump-Endorsed Leora Levy Wins Senate GOP Primary in Connecticut
Another Aug. 9 article hidden behind a paywall claimed that "Former President Donald Trump's enduring hold on the Republican electorate was reaffirmed by the overwhelming number of Trump-endorsed candidates who racked up victories in recent primary elections." Gizzi further hyped Levy's victory in an Aug. 10 article, crediting the raid for motivating right-wing voters:
Republicans, Democrats, and independents throughout Connecticut were left reeling Tuesday night by the results of the GOP Senate primary.
In what is easily one of the Nutmeg State's biggest upsets in recent history, former State House Republican leader and long-presumed favorite Themis Klarides lost the Senate primary to Republican National Committeewoman and former President Donald Trump-endorsed Leora Levy.
[...]
To call Levy's upset of historic proportions is no exaggeration. In defeating Klarides, who had the endorsement of the state Republican convention, Levy became only the third Republican to win a statewide primary over the convention-endorsed candidate since primaries began in Connecticut in 1970.
"Trump voters were fired up," said one GOP consultant who requested anonymity, "His endorsement [which came last Thursday] along with what happened yesterday when the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago came at a good time for Leora. The conservative Trump bases had an outlet— today's primary— which allowed them to hit back by voting for Leora."
The touting continued afterwards: Mack touted Liz Cheney's defeat in a Wyoming Republican primary in an Aug. 16 article under the headline "Wyoming to Cheney: You're Fired! Trump-Backed Hageman Wins Easily." Mack followed that with an Aug. 20 article on how "Former President Donald Trump endorsed a slew of GOP House incumbents in Florida before the state's final primary vote Tuesday.
An Aug. 22 article by Mack gushed that "On the eve of her GOP primary, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., drew the coveted endorsement from former President Donald Trump." And an Aug. 24 article by Sandy Fitzgerald cheered that "Former President Donald Trump took a victory lap on his Truth Social page late Tuesday night, celebrating a 'fantastic evening of ALL WINS' for the candidates he supported in the day's primary races."
UPDATE: Gizzi also wrote an Aug. 11 article on the Washington state primaries that started by cheering how Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler became "the 7th of 10 House Republicans who voted for former President Donald Trump's impeachment going down to defeat" while a Trump-endorsed Republican will advance to the general election, but that a Trump-endorsed Republican lost in another district. He then wrote about how "pundits and pols pondered how one pro-impeachment Republican could go down and another could emerge on top in the same state." Most of the rest was fawning over the Trump-endorsed candidate who beat Herrera Beutler, as a wonderful candidate with a great personal story, while the losing Trump-endorsed candidate was quickly dismissed as "not a good candidate" who "came across as a grumpy guy" and not mentioned again.
