Newsmax Was Surprisingly Balanced In Reporting Musk's Anti-Semitic Controversy Topic: Newsmax
Newsmax offered surprisingly balanced coverage of Elon Musk's war with the ADL because it pointed out the spread of anti-Semitism on Twitter (well, X) after Musk took it over. Then Musk was credibly accused of endorsing anti-Semitism. Mark Swanson served up another surprisingly balanced account of that in a Nov. 16 article (though he did lean a bit into trying to do cleanup for Musk):
Elon Musk was replaced as a speaker in Thursday's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit a day after he sided with a social media post widely viewed as antisemitic.
Officially, Musk dropped out due to a "schedule change" and was replaced by former Secretary of State John Kerry. However, the 11th-hour swap came in the aftermath of Musk agreeing with a Wednesday post on X that said Jewish communities spread "hatred against whites."
"You have said the actual truth," Musk replied, later clarifying that he doesn't believe "all Jewish communities" hate whites. But Musk did rail against the Anti-Defamation League.
"The ADL unjustly attacks the majority of the West, despite the majority of the West supporting the Jewish people and Israel. This is because they cannot, by their own tenets, criticize the minority groups who are their primary threat," Musk weeted.
He added, "I am deeply offended by ADL's messaging and any other groups who push de facto anti-white racism or anti-Asian racism or racism of any kind."
On Thursday, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt took to Musk's X platform to accuse him of validating antisemitic theories, in this case, the theory that Jews encourage the influx of minority populations into the U.S. to thin out white majorities.
"At a time when antisemitism is exploding in America and surging around the world, it is indisputably dangerous to use one's influence to validate and promote antisemitic theories," Greenblatt posted.
Newsmax published a wire article noting the White House's condemnation of Musk's tweet, followed by an article by Nicole Wells offering another balanced approach: "Though [Musk] later suggested he was referring mainly to the Anti-Defamation League, the tech billionaire did not delete his original reply." Meanwhile, Eric Mack helped Musk do a little cleanup in a Nov. 22 article:
Democrats and liberal activist group Media Matters have attacked X owner Elon Musk, alleging he is profiting from a platform for free speech, including for antisemites, but Musk is undercutting their narrative.
"X Corp will be donating all revenue from advertising & subscriptions associated with the war in Gaza to hospitals in Israel and the Red Cross/Crescent in Gaza," Musk wrote Wednesday on X.
His pledged support for the state of Israel comes after Democrats in Congress wrote him Tuesday alleging X is profiting from premium accounts that glorify violence against Israelis.
In the letter to Musk and X chief executive Linda Yaccarino, the lawmakers noted reports from nonprofit organizations that showed people with X Premium accounts "glorifying barbaric acts of violence against Israelis" on the platform.
That was followed by more damage-control stenography from Jim Thomas in a Nov. 24 article:
Elon Musk is set to visit Israel next week to express support for the residents of Gaza, the New York Post reported.
According to Hebrew-language media, Musk, the Space X mogul and owner of the X — formerly Twitter — social media platform, plans to meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit.
Musk has been embroiled in past controversies, drawing criticism recently for a post on X in which he appeared to endorse an antisemitic conspiracy theory alleging that Jews were involved in facilitating mass migration to the West, according to The New York Times.
In recent months, Musk clashed with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a civil rights organization combating antisemitism in the U.S. Musk threatened legal action against the ADL, accusing the group of dissuading advertisers by asserting that X harbored neo-Nazi and antisemitic content.
That was joined, though, by a wire article the same day noting that "Elon Musk-owned social media company X could lose as much as $75 million in advertising revenue by the end of the year as dozens of major brands pause their marketing campaigns." That was followed by a Nov. 26 wire article noting Musk's actual meeting in Israel.
An anonymously written Nov. 29 article noted Musk's tepid apology and vulgar insult of advertisers who quit Twitter over the repeated controversies:
Elon Musk, addressing the mainstream media on Wednesday after an earlier post on X was dubbed antisemitic by many critics, apologized Wednesday for his “dumbest” ever social media interaction.
At the same time, though, he blasted advertisers leaving his platform because of rising antisemitism on X.
“I don’t want them to advertise,” he said at the New York Times DealBook Summit in New York, reported by CNN Business.
“If someone is going to blackmail me with advertising or money go [expletive] yourself. ... Hey Bob, if you’re in the audience, that’s how I feel” he added.
The anonymous writer didn't note that it took 12 full days for Musk to issue that apology, and that the offending tweet was still live. A Nov. 30 article by Wells noted that X CEO Linda Yaccarino "seemed to support Musk's feelings on" his vulgar diss of advertisers.
Newsmax's Hirsen Hypes Mike Johnson's Virtues, Supposed Dedication To 'Principled Governance' Topic: Newsmax
James Hirsen started his Nov. 10 Newsmax column by repeating the ConWeblament that the right-wing extremism of newly selected House speaker Mike Johnson was being reported:
Mike Johnson is under attack for the religious and cultural beliefs that he holds.
In an appearance on a recent weekend news program, the newly-elected Speaker of the House made the following comments regarding the barrage of negativity that he is having to endure:
“There are entire industries built on taking down, tearing down people like me. I understand that comes with the territory and we’re not fazed by it,” he said.
From the moment he took possession of the Speaker's gavel, enemies within the media have joined forces with partisan operatives in an attempt to pigeonhole him as an extremist.
Appearing to take things in stride, he stated, “I’ve been labeled all kinds of stuff, but these people don’t know me.”
One does not need to know another person to report accurately on them, and neither Johnson nor Hirsen have denited the specifics of what has been reported. Hirsen followed that by lazily reciting his resume and anonymous boilerplate praise:
Arriving at his new post with almost 20 years of constitutional law experience under his belt, in his practice he routinely safeguarded the fundamental rights of individuals and businesses.
He characterized his legal career as one that placed him in the position of “defending religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, and biblical values...”
Highly respected by his colleagues, a deeply divided Republican caucus actually came together and succeeded in electing him as new House Speaker.
Even prior to his Speaker post he was held in high esteem by his colleagues. He was one of the most well-liked members of the GOP leadership.
Back in 2022, he had been unanimously elected vice chair of the House Republican Conference for a second time.
The favorable reputation was due in large part to the way in which he comported himself, humble in his demeanor yet true to his principles.
Hirsen then lamented that the creepiness ofJohnson including his teenage son in his porn "accountability" software was being noted (while ignoring the creepiness aspect):
During a 2022 technology panel, which took place at his church in Louisiana, Johnson spoke about a subscription-based computer program that he and his teenage son were using at the time to monitor questionable content.
Media outlets, including Rolling Stone and The New Republic, apparently unearthed the remarks. Attacks were then leveled at the Speaker for his commitment against pornography.
While talking to reporters at the Capitol, he described the negative media blitz as “just the latest attack in a campaign by D.C. insiders on my faith.”
Of course, Hirsen chose to misleadingly frame the discussion about Johnson having a "commitment against pornography" and not, you know, that he brought his teenage son into it. He went on to insist that Johnson was just like the Founding Fathers and all about "principled governance":
Those who are going after Johnson are perhaps unintentionally, or perhaps intentionally, forgetting that the beliefs he espouses are the same Judeo-Christian principles that served as foundational pillars during the initial formation of our country.
The Founders were heavily influenced by biblical teachings contained in the Old and New Testaments.
Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence the profound “self-evident” truth that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
These words spring from the Judeo-Christian credo that all people are created in the image of God.
The Founders recognized Scripture as a prime source of moral and ethical wisdom and incorporated many of its precepts into the U.S. Constitution. The three branches of government, checks and balances on power, the freedom to worship, and equal treatment under the law are but a few.
It is through the application of these inherent values that Johnson desires to implement what he terms “principled governance.”
Never mind that Johnson's Republican Party is also the party of George Santos. Principled governance, anyone? And if Hirsen really had any principles, he would apologize for all the election fraud lies and conspiracy theories he spread after the 2020 election.
Hirsen concluded by declaring: "Praying for Speaker Johnson’s success. And a miracle for America." It would be a miracle if Hirsen ever repented for the lies he spread.
Newsmax Parrots MRC's Attacks On NewsGuard Topic: Newsmax
Newsmax is parroting the Media Research Center's loudandlamewar on website-rating service NewsGuard, repeating the dubious narrative that NewsGuard exists solely to suppress right-wing views. Theodore Bunker huffed in a March 10 article:
NewsGuard, a left-wing media monitoring organization which claims to rate the credibility of news websites, was awarded nearly $750,000 from the Department of Defense in 2021 according to publicly available records.
The revelation comes in the latest "Twitter Files" post by Matt Taibbi.
Bunker offered no proof that NewsGuard is "left-wing"; instead, he copy-and-pasted the MRC's attacks:
The Media Research Center has examined NewsGuard's "ratings" system and found the service continually favors left-wing and liberal news outlets as "trusted" and negatively rates conservative ones as not reliable.
Newsguard negatively rates leading conservative outlets like Washington Times, Newsmax, Breitbart, Federalist, Epoch Times, Red State, Prager U, Daily Wire, and others.
We've documented how the MRC's purported examination of NewsGuard's rating system is actually all about how the shoddiness of right-wing media is being exposed by NewsGuard and how it's demanding that NewsGuard mandate false ratings parity.
Newsmax parroted other right-wing attacks on NewsGuard around that time as well:
As the right-wing war on NewsGuard heated up in the fall, Newsmax was happy to take part, such as in an Oct. 20 article by Mark Swanson:
Elon Musk railed against the left-wing media fact-checker NewsGuard on Thursday, calling the ratings company a "scam" and saying it should be "disbanded immediately."
Musk's reaction came in the aftermath of a series of posts on his social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.
One came from Foundation for Freedom Online executive director Mike Benz, who claimed NewsGuard, led by adviser and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, worked with the European Union on a disinformation code that would prompt governments to bankrupt alternative news sites.
Benz highlighted NewsGuard's business model, which he said combines "disinformation compliance services with censorship laws it promotes."
[...]
Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy months ago called out NewsGuard — and the Global Disinformation Index — for exerting their influence to silence conservative voices. Ruddy said they present themselves as independent fact-checkers.
This turned into a circular promotion with Musk, which Newsmax was only too happy to tout in an Oct. 22 article by Sandy Fitzgerald:
Elon Musk Sunday responded to a Newsmax article concerning his objections to left-wing media fact-checker NewsGuard, agreeing that it is "not cool" for it to push a "political agenda" with its ratings.
"Yeah, it’s not cool. Pushing a political agenda in the name of “guarding” the public," Musk posted on his social media site X, formerly Twitter, in a response to Newsmax's article, published Thursday after he called NewsGuard a "scam" and said it should be "disbanded immediately."
In neither article was any proof offered to back up the claim that NewsGuard is "left-wing."
An Oct. 23 article by Swanson touted another attack on NewsGuard:
The publishers of the foreign policy news website Consortium News filed a lawsuit against the left-wing media fact-checker NewsGuard Technologies, Inc. and the U.S. government on Monday in New York federal court, claiming First Amendment violations and defamation.
The publisher, Consortium for Independent Journalism, accused NewsGuard of defaming Consortium News and the government for colluding with the self-proclaimed media "watchdog" to violate the First Amendment.
The publisher also is accusing an alliance between NewsGuard and the government — specifically the Pentagon's Cyber Command — of coercing news organizations to "alter viewpoints" that differ or dissent from policies of the United States and its allies," via a program called the "misinformation fingerprints" project.
And just as the MRC did, Swanson failed to tell readers that Consortium News is a liberal-leaning site, since doing so undermines the right0wing narrative that NewsGuard is uniquely biased against right-wing website. And, again, Swanson offered no proof to back up his claim that NewsGuard is "left-wing."
Then, presumably in the hope of setting off another round of circular promotion, a Nov. 23 article by Luca Cacciator and Michael Katz hyped another Musk attack on NewsGuard:
Elon Musk's social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, issued a new warning Wednesday about the left-wing ratings company NewsGuard.
In a post on the site, X said it was the latest organization to be targeted by NewsGuard, which has systematically targeted conservative media.
"NewsGuard is about to publish a 'report' on misinformation on X. As a for-profit company, they will only share the data that underpins their purported research if you pay," X explained.
X then highlighted NewsGuard's strategy in going after the platform — the same strategy it has employed on dozens of other companies.
NewsGuard "uses these reports to pressure companies to buy their 'fact-checking' services. It's a profit over any principle model," X said.
"X has not seen any of the data in their report. Before publishing, we encourage all media outlets to request the data underpinning their claims."
After the X posting, Elon Musk himself weighed in on the matter, posting to his account, "In other words, 'NewsGuard' is a propaganda shop that will produce any lies you want if you pay them enough money."
Cacciatore and Katz failed to note that Twitter/X is also ostensibly a for-profit company that will only share the data that underpins its purported research in defense of the company. That was demonstrated with the "Twitter files," in which Musk released selective data and documents to hand-picked writers whose job it was to push Musk's preferred narrative about "censorship" at Twitter by pre-Musk management. Of course, they also failed to offer any evidence that NewsGuard is "left-wing."
Morris used an Oct. 12 column to rant that "It's becoming increasingly obvious that the Hamas attack on Israel is directly due to Biden’s relaxation of Donald Trump’s oil embargo on Iran," adding that "Biden’s weakness and senility serve to disguise effectively his pro-Iranian bias inherited from the Obama administration."
Morris has also been eager to pounce on any little thing to declare Biden's re-election campaign to be over. In an Oct. 31 column, it was that he wouldn't be on the primary ballot in New Hampshire due to a squabble between state and Democratic officals over which should be the first primary state:
Biden will not appear on the New Hampshire presidential primary ballot and will have to depend on write-ins to generate a showing.
It was exact same situation in 1968 when Lyndon Johnson did not appear on the New Hampshire ballot but appealed to write-ins. His performance was so pathetic that he was forced out of the race a month later.
[...]
But once Biden is humiliated in New Hampshire, and everybody sees that the emperor has no clothes, recovery will be difficult.
I doubt Biden can overcome such a strategy and I think he may be out of the race before or immediately after super Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
Then sit back and watch for any Democratic pretender to the throne to be roasted and eaten alive by the party’s carnivorous progressive wing.
In a Nov. 7 column, Morris declared that "The recent New York Times/Sienna College Poll makes it clear beyond doubt that Donald Trump is headed for a landslide defeat of Joe Biden," and joined the rest of Newsmax in touting Dean Philliips as a Biden spoiler (now that it wound down its cheerleading for Robert Kennedy Jr.'s campaign since he moved from Democrat to independent):
The Minnesota Democratic Congressman could upend the plan by winning or doing well in the first-in-the nation New Hampshire primary.
Biden, stupidly, will not be on the ballot. He removed himself to protest the legislature’s decision to stay first in the nation, frustrating Biden’s plan to put South Carolina ahead of it.
With Phillips on the ballot, and Biden having to depend on write-in votes, we may face a rerun of 1968 when Lyndon Johnson depended on write-ins and did not appear on the New Hampshire ballot, opening the way for another Minnesotan, Eugene McCarthy, to draw 42% of the vote, a stunning performance that led to Johnson’s withdrawal.
Phillips has a brilliant campaign message.
He says the only difference between he and Biden is age and physical condition.
He states the obvious truth — that only he is likely to be able to finish a second term.
Such an appeal — loving Biden while opposing him — is likely to draw lots of votes.
[...]
In the beginning, Phillips won’t be able to raise any money, but he doesn’t need to, running against Biden. The president’s failure to defeat Trump in the polls will demonstrate sufficiently that the party needs a new candidate and Phillips is as good as anyone to fill the void.
So, it will be a surprise Biden withdrawal at the last minute.
Morris didn't forget to suck up to the guy he really wants as president: "In the meantime, Trump will continue to wage his brilliant campaign of new, important, and attractive ideas, as well as compelling rally speeches."
Morris made more wild claims in a Dec. 9 TV appearance:
President Joe Biden is potentially going to be voted into an official House impeachment inquiry this week, which can expose him as being on the China payroll, according to presidential adviser Dick Morris on Newsmax.
"Biden was essentially not just seeking bribes, but on the payroll of the Chinese Communist Party," Morris told "Saturday Report." "They gave the University of Pennsylvania $58 million as a grant at the start of Biden's term and set up the Institute for Global Engagement and hired Joe Biden as the professor.
"At the end of his term as vice president when he was unemployed, China basically gave him a job."
In fact, Penn says it "never solicited or received any gifts from any Chinese or other foreign entity" for the Biden Center, which is funded entirely by university funds.
Newsmax, WND Slobber Over Trump's Allegedly Increasing Net Worth Topic: Newsmax
When Forbes magazine dropped Donald Trump from its list of the 400 richest Americans in October, Newsmax gave Trump space to whine about it, baselessly calling the magazine "very badly failing" and dismiss the list as a "very dated and discredited 'antique'" and insisting that the magazine is "China-owned" though it's actually owned by a 28-year-old American tech bro. (UPDATE: The sale to the tech bro fell through, which means it's apparently still owned by a Hong Kong-based investment group, which Forbes denies has any ties to China.) But when a different magazine put Trump on its own list of rich people, Newsmax devoted a Nov. 7 article by Lee Barney to gushing over it:
Trump’s fortune has grown by $500 million to $3.1 billion since leaving office in 2021, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Bloomberg attributes this primarily to the real estate boom in Florida, which has bolstered two of Trump’s best-known properties, Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach and the Doral golf resort in Miami.
In addition, having sold his Washington hotel and paid down loans, Trump has more cash and less debt than at any point in the past decade, according to Bloomberg, which has been estimating Trump’s net worth since 2015.
Actually, Bloomberg didn't make that claim about Trump having "more cash and less debt" -- it simply quoted Eric Trump saying it. Barney then slipped into Trump PR mode, claiming that Bloomberg's estimation of his real estate properties does not take into consideration the impact of the Trump brand on their values, the historical significance of some of the properties," making a particular case for a certain property:
Perhaps the most controversial piece of real estate being dissected in the trial is Trump’s penthouse apartment at Trump Tower, which his company valued at $131.3 million in 2021, and Bloomberg says is worth $40 million today. The court has no estimation.
[...]
Between 2011 and 2016, Trump said his penthouse was 30,000 square feet, but New York state says it is only 10,996 feet.
What the A.G. nor Bloomberg have not admitted is that New York real estate law permits developers and real estate agents to include measurements of common areas of a building, like the basement, elevator shaft, hallways, roof, etc., in an apartment’s square foot calculation.
Plus, if Trump’s penthouse were to go on the market, there would be a premium price for it because of the 45th president’s name. “There would be a Trump premium because the person that would want the property is likely to be a Trump supporter,” says Eli Beracha, director of the Hollo School of Real Estate at Florida International University.
Barney didn't explain how counting hallways and elevator shafts and basements (which, by the way, a penghouse apartment wouldn't even have) equated to tripling the size of Trump's apartment. He concluded by gushing further:
So, while there’s a $1.4 billion differential between Trump’s $4.5 billion claim and the Bloomberg Billionaires Index’s $3.1 billion peg, the index points out reasonable factors why Trump could be worth all that — or far more.
Further, nowhere does the article acknowledge the monumental, game-changing impact Trump has had on real estate, particularly New York real estate, since he began developing it in the 1970s.
Perhaps because what Trump did 40-plus years ago (with the fortune left to him by his father) has little bearing on his current numbers.
WorldNetDaily similarly gushed over Trump's placement on this list in a Nov. 8 article by Bob Unruh that began by rehashing old grievances:
President Donald Trump's corporate worth is an issue now because the New York attorney general, Letitia James, who campaigned on the platform of getting him, is claiming in a civil case he inflated the values of his properties.
She is insisting on $250 million in damages is owed. And she wants the courts to kill Trump's business entities entirely.
udge Arthur Engoron already has ruled there was "fraud," even though there's no evidence of any loan defaults, any complaints from business associates or anything like that.
Further the paperwork involved in Trump's real estate deals included a disclaimer, telling purchasers, or sellers, they should do their own due diligence on property values, which is a standard clause in many contracts.
But now that Engoron, on his own, wildly ruled that Trump's Mar-a-Lago home was worth only about $18 million, drawing dropped jaws and laughter from experts in real estate, a report has appeared with documentation.
But Engoron didn't reach that conclusion "wildly" or "on his own" -- it's the value of Mar-a-Lago for tax assessment purposes. Nevertheless, Unruh went on to cite a report from the right-wing Epoch Times quoting a real estate agent claiming that 'Trump's Mar-a-Lago is worth more than Bloomberg's estimate, and way more than Engoron claimed.'"
Newsmax's Morris Had Things To Say About House Speaker Fight Topic: Newsmax
Newsmax pundit Dick Morris says what he needs to to get on his employer's TV channel, and he had opinions about the House Republicans firing Kevin McCarthy as House speaker and squabbling over picking a new one. He surprisingly didn't endorse it, as an Oct. 4 Newsmax TV appearance showed:
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., with his actions against ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other activities in the chamber, is "destabilizing the Republican Party," and eventually could cost the party the presidency, political strategist and former presidential adviser Dick Morris tells Newsmax.
"I'm in line with what Newt Gingrich says, which is that Gaetz is a self-serving ambitious guy who did this simply to attract attention and that he's leading basically a group of people who were exercising their power trying to get on the news and destabilizing the Republican Party," Morris said Tuesday on Newsmax's "The Right Squad."
[...]
Morris pointed out that with the election coming up in 2024, the Republican Party is projecting "an image of being totally incapable of governing, and totally incapable of running Congress."
He was joined in this appearance by credibly accused sexual harasser Matt Schlapp (which Newsmax didn't mention):
American Conservative Union leader Matt Schlapp, also on Tuesday night's program, argued that Gingrich, like former Speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan, was a "failed speaker," and that there is a division in the conference because Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell believes that there should not be spending fights because they are lost.
Morris returned for an Oct. 13 appearance to press his point again:
Political analyst and author Dick Morris told Newsmax on Monday that a fractured House Republican conference might be losing something important while members bicker over who will be next to hold the speaker's gavel.
"The majority of the American people are absolutely appalled that in the middle of what's going on in the Middle East and the crises the world faces, the Republicans are squabbling of who is going to have that gavel," Morris, a former presidential adviser to Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, told "Rob Schmitt Tonight."
"What they can end up doing is blowing it. They'll end up losing all the chairmanships and the majority and the whole bit and, to boot, being seen by the country as incapable of governing.
"The stakes are so high and the big differences in ideology are minuscule. This is a battle of egos and personalities that can get out of hand and lead ... Democrats to taking power again."
When House Republicans did finbally pick a new speaker, Morris unsurprisingly tried to give Donald Trump credit for it in an Oct. 28 appearance:
Former President Donald Trump was the "decisive influence" in the House Republicans' choice of a new speaker, and it is "quite a recommendation" for him to choose and trust Speaker Mike Johnson, his advisor Dick Morris said Saturday on Newsmax.
"The important point is that Republicans in the House have learned their lesson," Morris said on Newsmax's"Saturday Report."
"I think they were excoriated throughout the country for the horrible ballot after ballot after ballot and they rejected candidate after candidate. They've learned their lesson and I think they'll follow him and back Johnson where he's going to lead."
Newsmax floated the idea of Trump as speaker on a temporary basis, if not longer, but it too signed off on Johnson as the new speaker.
Newsmax Touts Dean Phillips As RFK Jr. Replacement For Biden Spoiler Topic: Newsmax
While it was hyping Robert Kennedy Jr.'s would-be Democratic presidential campaign, Newsmax was also touting another Democrat with the same goal of disrupting President Biden's re-election. It actually began with a July 2022 article by Jeffrey Rodack repeating how Dean "said he doesn’t want President Joe Biden to run again in 2024," then picked more steam over the past summer. Charles Kim wrote in a July 29 article:
Democratic donors are urging a moderate congressman from Minnesota to challenge President Joe Biden in the 2024 primary.
Politico reported Friday that third-term Rep. Dean Phillips, who represents a suburban district of Minneapolis, is being urged by donors to enter the Democratic primary field for 2024.
The report said that Phillips, 54, is scheduled to meet with donors in New York City next week to explore the possibility of entering the 2024 race.
[...]
But despite Phillips' scheduled meeting and his donors' interest, he "is highly unlikely to mount a primary challenge unless Biden's health worsens or his political standing drops precipitously," Politico reported.
The apparently unironically named Charlie McCarthy touted Phillips' would-be campaign in an Aug. 13 article:
A Democrat [sic] lawmaker says President Joe Biden should not run for reelection.
Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., appeared Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" and said he wants Biden to end his campaign for the 2024 Democrat [sic] presidential nomination.
He says his opinion is based on "how people feel" and not based on the 80-year-old president's age.
"I would like to see Joe Biden, a wonderful and remarkable man, pass the torch — cement this extraordinary legacy," Phillips said.
"And by the way, this is not how everybody thinks, but I do believe the majority wants to move on."
Phillips previously called on other Democrats to challenge Biden. He has not committed to running himself.
As Phillips did, in fact, prepare to run himself, Newsmax touted that too:
As Newsmax wound down its promotion of Kennedy after he moved from running a Democrat to an independent, Phillips conveniently replaced him in that spoiler-wannabe space. It published two wire articles on his Oct. 27 candidacy declaration, and it continued to run a mix of mostly original articles on him:
There was also a Nov. 23 article by Theodore Bunker noting that Phillips "issued an apology this week after he repeated criticisms of Vice President Kamala Harris while attempting to defend her."
Missing from all this, however, is any reference to an appearance by Dean on Newsmax TV -- it seems that Phillips is not putting a lot of time into catering to right-wing media in order to boost his campaign, presumably because he understands he's only being used by them as a proxy to attack Biden an d they will never support him in the general election should he actually win the nomination. Kennedy, by contrast, did numerous interviews with Newsmax and was even featured in a cover story in its magazne despite that being the case.
Newsmax Mostly On Board With Mike Johnson As Speaker Topic: Newsmax
Despite floating the idea of Donald Trump serving as House speaker, Newsmax quickly got on board when Mike Johnson was ultimately chosen as speaker with the usual fawning promotion:
There was a little exasperation that the process took so long; an Oct. 25 column by Michael Dorstewitz suggested that House Republicans "may wanna just get together and chill out" before settling on a new speaker.
Newsmax was less than happy, of course, about criticism of Johnson. Jim Thomas complained in an Oct. 25 article that "President Joe Biden's reelection campaign issued a statement asserting that Johnson's ascent solidified the so-called MAGA takeover within the House Republican ranks." Charles Kim groused in another article that day:
Democrats and abortion rights organizations are pouncing on newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for his "extreme" pro-life comments and positions on the controversial issue.
"Mike Johnson, probably more so than almost any other member of the House Republican conference, wants to criminalize abortion care and impose a nationwide ban," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Wednesday morningduring an event hosted by the Center for American Progress, which preceded the House floor vote in which Johnson was elected. "Later on, today, [Democrats] will make clear that we will continue to forcefully push back against that extremism."
[...]
Democrat-led [sic] House Pro-Choice Caucus members also criticized Johnson for his views on the issue in a statement.
Still, Jeff Crouere used his Oct. 26 column to complain that Jim Jordan wasn't elected as speaker, even though "the party's base" suuposedly wanted him:
The overwhelming favorite of the party’s base was Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
Jordan is the co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus and has served admirably as the House Judiciary Committee Chairman.
His history as a stalwart conservative earned the trust of grassroots Republicans.
Unfortunately, a contingent of moderate Republicans were resolute in opposing Jordan.
Despite their office phone lines burning up with calls from Republicans throughout the country, these obstinate opponents of Jordan refused to budge.
[...]
Jordan would have been a different type of House Speaker, listening to the grassroots instead of the special interest groups.
He would have been hesitant to add to the $113 billion already sent by Congress to Ukraine.
Jordan would have also ended the practice of passing continuing resolutions which has been the standard operating procedure for 27 years.
He would have insisted on Congress passing twelve separate appropriations bills, which is what former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., did not do.
Crouere didn't mention that Republican House members were actually threatened with violence if they didn't support Jordan, which put off people who mighthave voted for him, or that he remains under a cloud of suspicion as former Ohio State wrestlers continue to accuse him of looking the other way amid accuations of a team doctor molesting athletes while he served as a coach there.
Crouere grudgingly acknowledged that Johnson won the vote for speaker, but he continued to whine that Republican leadership wasn't far-right enough even as he nosensically claimed that "All the top leaders in the Democratic Party are far-left progressives who espouse socialist policies."
Newsmax Surprisingly Noted Criticism Of 'Sound of Freedom' Film (But Not Enough) Topic: Newsmax
Newsmax heavily promoted the film "Sound of Freedom," so it's not surprising that a Nov. 3 article by Jim Thomas started out by sounding a lot like a press release for it:
Amazon Prime Video has secured the rights to one of the most electrifying box office successes of 2023, Angel Studios' "Sound of Freedom."
"Sound of Freedom," a real-life-inspired narrative, unfolds the harrowing journey of a government agent who resigns from his post to embark on a daring mission to rescue a young girl ensnared by sex traffickers in Colombia, according to CNBC.
The film has garnered considerable attention within conservative political circles, with endorsements from GOP presidential candidates.
Former President Donald Trump hosted a private screening of the film at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club during the summer.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina lauded it as an "amazing, gut-wrenching, emotional movie."
"Wow. Wow. Wow," Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas exclaimed about the film, encouraging his supporters to watch it.
In between all that, though, Thomas abruptly added the other side of the story:
This attention reflects the grassroots enthusiasm surrounding what Republican strategist Sarah Longwell has termed the "mainstreaming of the center of the QAnon movement, which centers on child protection," as reported by The New York Times.
[...]
During focus groups, Longwell observed that Republican voters frequently voice concerns about schools allegedly "indoctrinating children" and the participation of transgender athletes in sports.
Thomas surprisingly injected even more criticism of the film:
According to Daniela Peterka-Benton, the academic director of the Global Center of Human Trafficking at Montclair State University, the film's emphasis on saviors rather than victims presents an incomplete and idealized portrayal of human trafficking. She pointed out that, in reality, most children are not "snatched away" but are trafficked by individuals with whom they are acquainted.
Peterka-Benton stated, "It does a disservice to the victims; it does a disservice to people really fighting to end human trafficking and to provide services to survivors; there's so much more to it than just the rescue."
For all that truth-telling, though, Thomas failed to mention that the person the film is based on, Tim Ballard, is facing allegations of sexual misconduct and has been forced out of the nonprofit organizatoin he founded for his anti-child-trafficking work, nor did he note that the film's star, Jim Caviezel, is a QAnon adherent. Instead, Thomas finished on the PR note he started the article on, proclaiming that "Angel Studios, renowned for its faith-based content, is poised for a promising future with diverse projects in the pipeline."
Newsmax Helping QAnon Shaman Rebrand Without The QAnon Part Topic: Newsmax
Like WorldNetDaily, Newsmax has been trying to engage in revisionism regarding the Capitol riot -- particlarly when it comes to "QAnon Shaman" Jacob Chansley. A March 7 article, for instance, hyped how "New footage released through House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from the Jan. 6, 2021, protests at the U.S. Capitol shows two Capitol Police officers escorting 'QAnon Shaman' Jacob Chansley past other police officers and to the door of the U.S. Senate" -- but she omitted that prosecutors pointed out that Chansley had spent the previous half-hour facing off against law enforcement, adding: "Chansley was not some passive, chaperoned observer of events for the roughly hour that he was unlawfully inside the Capitol. ... He was part of the initial breach of the building; he confronted law enforcement for roughly 30 minutes just outside the Senate Chamber; he gained access to the gallery of the Senate along with other members of the mob (obviously, precluding any Senate business from occurring); and he gained access to and later left the Senate floor only after law enforcement was able to arrive en masse to remove him.”
A March 30 article by Theodore Bunker, meanwhile, tried to rename Chansley: "Jacob Chansley, the man known as the Jan. 6 "Shaman," has been moved from federal prison to a halfway house, according to records from the Federal Bureau of Prisons." The word "QAnon" was nowhere in his article, and Bunker did not explain why he dropped it, given that "QAnon Shaman" is very much Chansley's identity.
The remaning seems to be done as a favor to Chansley and his attorney, William Shipley, who appeared on Newsmax in 2021 to assert: "We're going to begin to try to address this issue is to eliminate this reference to him as the QAnon Shaman. ... He has zero connection to QAnon." Shipley went on to play dumb: "He does practice shamanism, which is a form of a sort of a meditative religious practice, but he has no connection to QAnon. ... Where that ever took hold, I have no idea, but his attorney did him no favors at all by allowing that characterization to sort of dominate the manner in which he was addressing the media and in court, and it's just so far from the truth." In fact, Chansley was a known supporter of QAnon, as indicted by social media posts.
Eric Mack -- who wrote the 2021 article on Chansley's lawyer pretending he had no link to QAnon -- returned for a July 20 article that tried to engage in further whitewashing:
Using the Jan. 6 tapes aired by Tucker Carlson, the self-proclaimed "America's Shaman" sought to have his guilty plea deal voided due to "newly discovered" evidence, but a federal judge rejected Jacob Chansley's request Thursday.
"Chansley's arguments are without merit," U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth in Washington, D.C., wrote in his ruling.
[...]
Chansley was the famed Jan. 6 "Shaman" who wore a headdress and horns while being ushered through the U.S. Capitol building by police on Jan. 6, 2021. The video released publicly earlier this year, as permitted by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., showed "newly discovered" evidence Chansley was not forcing his way through the building to the Senate chambers.
The word "QAnon" appeared nowhere in Mack's article.
All this rewriting of history and attempted softening of Chansley earned Newsmax an interview with him when he decided he wanted to run for Congress -- and Mack lovingly devoted three articles to the interview. The first was a bit of cleanup:
"Shaman" Jacob Chansley, vilified for his protest at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is running for Congress as a libertarian to fight the establishment and stand for America and Arizona voters, he told Newsmax in an exclusive interview Monday.
"The fact of the matter is the mockingbird media chose to use my image to create a shock and awe campaign," Chansley told "National Report" in his first national TV appearance since the protest and his prison release.
[...]
The images of his Jan. 6 costume does not destroy his credibility, but enhance it, Chansley argued.
"Literally decades here in the United States of America we have had swindlers in suits and liars in ties stealing our tax dollars, moving our public money into private hands," he said. "And I'll say this: If it takes horns and face paint with no shirt to end up disrupting the establishment and the established, corrupt politics and the dinosaur circus that we call D.C., then I'm fine with that."
At the very end of this article, Mack finally said the forbidden word and effectivley admitted he was censoring the term on Chansley's behalf: "Labeled the 'QAnon Shaman,' Chansley has disavowed the QAnon movement and has preferred to be recognized as 'America's Shaman.'" In fact, Chansley has not disavowed QAnon; he has even said that "I never denounced Q or the QAnon community." This makes Mack's whitewash job even more dishonest.
The attempts to blame former President Donald Trump for the Jan. 6 protest is a function of "corrupt DOJ talking points" and "neuro linguistic programming" for "critical factor bypass" by anti-Trump "mockingbird media," the infamous Jan. 6 "Shaman" Jacob Chansley told Newsmax in an exclusive interview Monday.
"No, I do not" blame Trump, Chansley told "National Report." "And I think that any attempt to try to paint anything that happened on that day onto the president or try to paint him with that broad brush is just mockingbird media and corrupt DOJ talking points, because the fact of the matter is the man said peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."
Chansley was giving his first national TV interview since his imprisonment for having taken part in the Capitol protest that had him convicted for the obstruction of an official congressional proceeding. He spent the time researching, studying, and even teaching inmates as he prepares for a 2024 libertarian campaign in Arizona's 8th Congressional District.
"What we're talking about here is optics, and based on the mockingbird media and neuro linguistic programming, based on critical factor bypass, and all that kind of psychological warfare, basically, you can paint anybody to be anything," Chansley said.
"So you could choose to look at me as a felon. I've heard people call me a traitor that's a threat to democracy. Or you could choose to look at me as I am a person that was maligned and skewered by a corrupt system — as so many hundreds of thousands of people have been in the United States, as so many Jan. 6ers have been in the United States, and as Donald Trump has been in the United States of America."
One can easily look at Chansley as a felon because that is, in fact, what he is.
Mack let Chansley do even more revisionism in the third article:
January 6 "Shaman" Jacob Chansley regrets his involvement, but he rejects the "bogus narrative" of him having any mental health issues, he told Newsmax in an exclusive interview Monday.
"My mental health is as sound now as it was then," Chansley told"National Report" in a wide-ranging interview. "The fact of the matter is, this notion of mental illness or having mental health issues is a bogus narrative."
Chansley said it began with his former lawyer concocting it in a defense he does not agree with.
[...]
Despite serving time for a felony conviction of obstructing a congressional proceeding, Chansley noted he remained peaceful, did not break anything, and even assisted law enforcement during the protest in the Capitol.
"The moment that I entered the building I stopped somebody from stealing out of the break room," he said. "The whole reason why the police were escorting me around the building was because I offered to help them clear the Senate chamber, offered to help them make sure there was no vandalism, violence, or theft.
"And as soon as I got out the building, not a short time after, I stopped people from breaking in and told everybody to go home. No, I was not violent. No, I did not break anything. No, I did not steal anything. I was doing everything to keep the peace."
Mack censored the word "QAnon" in those latter two articles. If Chansley was asked any questions that weren't softball, Mack didn't indicate it.
Newsmax Devoted As Much Space To Trump's Speech As It Did To GOP Debate He Skipped Topic: Newsmax
While Newsmax's enthusiasm was dwindling for non-Trump Republican presidential candidates at their November debate, it showed more interest in what Donald Trump did instead of taking part in the debate: give a speech in Florida. Eric Mack was the dutiful stenographer in a Nov. 8 article (while also touting that his speech "aired live and in its entirety on Newsmax"):
Warning of President Joe Biden and "radical left Democrats" moving America away from democracy toward socialism, former President Donald Trump spoke in terms well understood by his supporters in the Cuban community of Hialeah, Florida.
"What they've done is so terrible in the last three years with respect to Cuba," Trump told the thousands who gathered to show support at a Wednesday night rally in the Miami suburb, which aired live and in its entirety on Newsmax. "We had it just where we wanted it. It was all set to go and they blew it. They blew it so badly.
"Just like the Cuban regime, the Biden regime is trying to put their political opponents in jail, shutting down free speech, taking bribes and kickbacks to enrich themselves and their very spoiled children — my children aren't so spoiled, are they? — rigging and cheating in elections, using the fake news media to cover up their colossal incompetence and stupidity.
"What they're doing, what they've done to our country — nobody can even believe it."
[...]
Trump was joined by mixed martial arts fighter Jorge Masvidal and comedian Roseanne Barr, who led the crowd in a profane chant and called him a "MAGA-dor," playing off his "Make America Great Again" slogan.
People showed up in red, white, and blue clothes with MAGA hats and Trump 2024 flags. Some also carried the flag of Israel.
Dozens of supporters lined up earlier to get a copy of Trump's photobook "Our Journey Together" signed by the former president's son Donald Trump Jr.
Speaking just miles from the Republican National Committee presidential primary debate of his top challengers, former President Donald Trump hailed his crowd, responded to his opponents' criticism, and mocked the lowly rated debates.
"They're not watchable," Trump told his Hialeah, Florida, campaign rally Wednesday night, which aired live and in its entirety on Newsmax. "You know, the last debate was the lowest-rated debate in the history of politics.
"So, therefore, do you think we did the right thing by not participating?"
Mack gushed in tha third article: "Repeating his vows to restore his strong border policies unwound by President Joe Biden on Day 1, former President Donald Trump said he will deliver the 'largest domestic deportation operation' in U.S. history." (Yes, he again noted that Trump's speech "aired live and in its entirety on Newsmax.") A fourth article, though, was stenography-filled but also noting Trump defended someone who has less than popular with his adoring crowd, if only because the guy is a frequent Newsmax guest:
Former President Donald Trump was shocked by his Hialeah, Florida, supporters booing Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., but the president stood by the lawmaker, who has been critical of Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.
[...]
Then the enthusiastic crowd turned a tad sour when Trump brought up the next name to hail as one of his endorsers.
"And your congressman, Carlos Gimenez, do you know him?" Trump said to a raining of boos, shocking him.
"Oh, you don't like him?" Trump asked as supporters shouted from the gallery. "What's going on, Carlos? Come on, Carl. We have got to get that straightened out.
"Carlos Gimenez. Really? Wow. Carlos?!"
Gimenez was a frequent Newsmax guest throughout the House Republicans' search for a new speaker. His appearances were very critical of Gaetz and the other seven Republicans who voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
And, yes, he once more pointed out that Trump's speech "aired live and in its entirety on Newsmax."
Sandy Fitzgerald took over for a Nov. 9 article on local politicians sucking up to Trump during the speech:
Hialeah, Florida, may soon have a street named after former President Donald Trump, the city's mayor said during Trump's rally in the Miami suburb as the GOP debate was being held nearby.
Mayor Esteban "Steve" Bovo, speaking during the Trump rally covered by Newsmax, drew cheers from the crowd at the Ted Hendricks Stadium when he said he plans to ask the Hialeah City Council to rename a street for Trump.
"How honored we were, that we were going to do right by you because you've always kept your promises to the residents of this great nation, and we're appreciative," Bovo said. "I will be asking next week, the city council of Hialeah — and some of the members of the city council are here with us today, our council president is here, our other council members are here — and I will be asking them to be able to authorize and vote affirmatively as we name the street after you, Donald Trump Way."
The mayor presented Trump with a mocked-up street sign, but it proclaimed the street being named "President Donald J. Trump Avenue."
Trump called the plans "an honor."
Fitzgerald didn't mention that there is opposition to the renaming in Hialeah, particularly among people who don't want streets named after indicted felons.
In all, the five articles Newsmax devoted to Trump's speech matched the five original articles it published on the contents of the Republican debate.
Meanwhile, later on Nov. 9, an article by Mark Swanson announced that "Republican front-runner and former President Donald Trump won't participate in next month's fourth GOP debate."
Newsmax's Enthusiasm Diminishes With Third GOP Debate Topic: Newsmax
As with the second debate, Newsmax's enthusiasm level for the third Republican presidential debate on Nov. 8 was subdued, largely beause Donald Trump refused to take part and wasn't doing much in the way of counterprogramming. It published a wire article previewing the debate, then published a couple more wire articles along with its original content about the debate itself:
In a post-debate analysis, John Gizzi made sure to inject Newsmax's preferred (and no-show) candidate into the mix:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley were the big winners of the third Republican presidential debate, but there was still considerable force felt on the part of the candidate who wasn't there Wednesday evening — former President Donald Trump.
That was the opinion of a group of political experts who spoke to Newsmax shortly after the showdown between the five contenders who qualified for the GOP forum.
[...]
The political muscle of Trump was something to which Newsmax experts repeatedly returned to.
"Let's be clear: former President Trump remains the party's overwhelming favorite," said Rotterman. "And as long as that's the case, all the candidates on stage were just auditioning for backup quarterback."
Newsmax gave McDaniel space to respond to Ramaswamy's attacks in a Nov. 9 article by Sandy Fitzgerald:
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, dismissing calls from presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy during Thursday night's RNC debate for her resignation, said the GOP must stop "infighting" as it is "not helping" the party.
"This Republican-on-Republican infighting — I'm not running for president so I'm not in this primary — isn't helping our party," McDaniel told CNN after the debate Thursday night, The Hill reported.
"We lost races in 2022 because of vitriol within our party," she added. "We need every Republican and then some to win elections. And the Republican voters want to hear us talk about the border, fentanyl, Israel, our kids, crime, inflation, and they want to see us take on Joe Biden."
Newsmax also made sure to mock the debate's ratings in a Nov. 9 article by Jim Thomas:
The third Republican presidential primary debate, hosted by NBC News, witnessed a dramatic viewership decline with just over 6 million viewers tuning in, marking the lowest audience turnout of the current campaign season and a 45% drop in viewers from the first debate.
The drop in Wednesday's debate was blamed on RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, with GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy criticizing her handling of the forums and calling for her to resign.
[...]
Wednesday night's audience figure was lower than the 9 million viewers who tuned in for the second GOP presidential primary debate in September, which was broadcast on Fox Business and Fox News.
The third GOP debate was also significantly lower than the nearly 12.8 million who watched the inaugural debate on Fox News back in August — as that event saw a 50% decline in ratings from the first debate of the 2016 campaign.
With then-candidate Trump attending, the Fox News 2015 prime-time GOP debate drew a record 24 million viewers.
Thomas claimed that the fourth debate was "shifting from mainstream media to liberal cable." In fact, the lead channel airing it, NewsNation, is a right-leaning network built and staffed in part by former Fox News personalities and executives and regularly fawned over by Newsmax's right-wing friends at the Media Research Center.
Newsmax Pushes Bogus Claim That Biden Read Teleprompter Direction Topic: Newsmax
Theodore Bunnker wrote in an Oct. 20 Newsmax article:
President Joe Biden on Thursday appeared to read aloud a direction from a teleprompter during his Oval Office address when talking about the wars in Ukraine and Israel, the Washington Examiner reported.
In a prime-time address to the nation, Biden, while asserting that the U.S. has no desire to send troops to fight against Russia, said, "We will have something that we do not seek — make it clear: We do not seek — we do not seek to have American troops fighting in Russia or fighting against Russia."
But that's not what happened. As Mediaite pointed out:
But according to the prepared remarks reviewed by Mediaite, the line in question — although altered in its delivery — was not an instruction.
“And let me be clear about something: we send Ukraine equipment sitting in our stockpile,” the prepared remarks read. Also, “[make it clear]” is not the sort of instruction that typically appears in Teleprompter drafts.
Despite that, Bunker tried to pile on:
Biden previously came under fire after saying, "End of quote, repeat the line," while delivering a speech, though a White House spokesperson denied that he made a mistake at the time, claiming that Biden actually said, "Let me repeat that line."
But that's not what happened either. As PolitiFact noted: "A White House press secretary told us Biden intentionally said 'end of quote' and then said 'repeat the line' for emphasis, and the full, live remarks support that explanation."
NEW ARTICLE -- The Trump Stenographers At Newsmax: (Fourth) Indictment Edition Topic: Newsmax
After lots of foreshadowing, Newsmax went into is usual defend-and attack mode as Donald Trump faced his latest indictment out of Georgia -- and got a cross-promotional interview with Trump for its trouble. Read more >>
Newsmax Still Sniping At Fox News While Tooting Its Own Horn Topic: Newsmax
One thing Newsmax lovesto do is tweak its Fox News competition by portraying it as dying while Newsmax is on the asendency, as well as hyping any controversy that could be tied to it. When Fox News faced a tiny tempest because it allowed non-right-wing charities (and also the Satanic Temple) to take part in its employee donation portal, Newsmax got a couple of articles out of it:
Numerous Newsmax shows attacked Fox News over the donation policy. It even had Satanic Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves for a TV appearance to defend Fox News (and, thus, boost Newsmax as the non-Satanic right-wing channel), as documented in a July 24 article by MIchael Katz:
Lucien Greaves, co-founder of The Satanic Temple, which is at the center of a controversy involving Fox News matching employee donations to the nonprofit organization, told Newsmax on Monday conservatives are holding the cable news network to an “unreasonable” standard.
[...]
“I think Fox was just using a third-party app that was allowing contributions to any charitable organization that qualified as such,” Greaves told ldquo;Eric Bolling The Balance.” “On our side, nobody was shocked by this news. People within The Satanic Temple weren't worried that we had some kind of formal background affiliation with Fox, which they would also reject.
“I honestly think what we have going on here is kind of a conservative purity spiral. I think they're holding Fox to a standard that is somewhat unreasonable.”
Greaves said there is an expansive list of charities to which employees could contribute and that Fox wasn’t forcing anyone to contribute to a specific charity.
Newsmax also loved it when Donald Trump bashed Fox News (and occasionally promoted Newsmax as an alternative):
Speaking of Murdoch, Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy had some nice things to say about him upon his retirement -- while, of course, burying that with fluffing his own channel:
Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy said Wednesday night the news network experienced an unheard-of ratings jump during the third quarter of 2023 — up 73% across its prime-time programming compared to the same time period last year.
Appearing Wednesday on "Rob Schmitt Tonight," Ruddy noted, while Newsmax's ratings boom has come at the expense of Fox News, he praised its controlling shareholder Rupert Murdoch as a "great conservative."
[...]
Ruddy attributed the meteoric rise of his network to viewers "voting" with their remote control for independent media over corporate giants.
It is a trend he says will continue for quite some time.
"When Tucker Carlson was fired, we saw a big surge back early this year in April," Ruddy told Schmitt.
[...]
"Five months later, we're now going to the six months, those ratings are sticking."
"They're not disappearing, and we're getting a huge share of the Fox audience," he added.
Asked about former President Donald Trump's statement Wednesday calling Rupert Murdoch a "globalist," Ruddy said he a "high opinion" of Fox's founder.
"Full disclosure: I once worked for Rupert Murdoch in my earlier days in journalism," Ruddy said. "The man has made an enormous contribution to the cause of freedom not only in the U.S. but around the world."
[...]
"I don't believe Donald Trump would have been elected had there not been a Fox News," he said.
But he noted Fox is changing direction which has put the network at odds with Trump as he runs for the Republican nomination.
That's not really true, of course; at the same time Ruddy was saying this, Fox News had given more airtime to Trump than any other Republican candidate.
Of course, there were plenty of stories about Newsmax's ratings (good) and those of Fox News (bad):
Newsmax even nitpicked Fox News' reporting on one of its own polls. A Sept. 23 article by Eric Mack complained that the reporting didn't show Trump leading enough:
Fox Business misled viewers on a poll that had former President Donald Trump beating President Joe Biden, posting the graphic's numbers in a way to suggest Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was performing better than Trump against the incumbent.
Trump led Biden by 2 points 48%-46% in the Fox News poll, but the on-screen graphic shown by Fox Business listed Biden's lower support first next to Trump's name, suggesting Trump was trailing the incumbent when he was actually leading.
Also, Fox, which is continually ridiculed by Trump for being pro-DeSantis, listed DeSantis versus Biden right below, showing Biden's 47% support next to DeSantis' name — ostensibly suggesting DeSantis was drawing a 3-point lead despite having mere 44% support and trailing Biden and doing worse than Trump.
The misleading graphic presentation was reported by conservative media, including The National Pulse.
[...]
Trump has not yet posted it on his Truth Social account, but the media is noting the ultimate broadcast of the results were spun to be confusing, if not misleading, to viewers.
Mack slipped yet another Fox-bashing tweak: "This all comes as Fox Corp. and News Corp. Chair Rupert Murdoch, long ridiculed by the former president as being anti-Trump, has stepped down."
Posted by Terry K.
at 8:09 PM EST
Updated: Wednesday, December 13, 2023 10:19 PM EST
Newsmax offered surprisingly balanced coverage of Elon Musk's war with the ADL because it pointed out the spread of anti-Semitism on Twitter (well, X) after Musk took it over. Then Musk was credibly accused of endorsing anti-Semitism. Mark Swanson served up another surprisingly balanced account of that in a Nov. 16 article (though he did lean a bit into trying to do cleanup for Musk):
James Hirsen started his Nov. 10 Newsmax 
Newsmax is parroting the Media Research Center's 
Newsmax pundit Dick Morris kept up his attacks on President Biden as the year wound down, as Newsmax pays him to do:
When Forbes magazine dropped Donald Trump from its list of the 400 richest Americans in October, Newsmax gave Trump 
Newsmax pundit Dick Morris says what he needs to to get on his employer's TV channel, and he had opinions about the House Republicans firing Kevin McCarthy as House speaker and squabbling over picking a new one. He surprisingly didn't endorse it, as an Oct. 4 Newsmax TV 
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While Newsmax's 
As with the second debate, Newsmax's enthusiasm level for the third Republican presidential debate on Nov. 8 was subdued, largely beause Donald Trump refused to take part and wasn't doing much in the way of counterprogramming. It published a 
Theodore Bunnker wrote in an Oct. 20 Newsmax 
One thing Newsmax 
