Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy reportedly informed close allies that Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy made it clear he should pay to appear more on the network.
Semafor reported that on a private phone call Ramaswamy “complained that the right-leaning network was sticking him in little-watched midday slots or ignoring him outright.”
Ruddy's response to Ramaswamy was to make clear that if he “wants to appear on Newsmax, he should pay to do it,” reported the article, citing two “ two people to whom the candidate described the conversation.”
Newsmax spokesperson Bill Daddi vehemently denied the report to Semafor in a statement calling Ramaswamy's claim “that Newsmax is asking candidates to advertise in order to ensure coverage as some quid pro quo … is categorically untrue and incorrect. Newsmax would take an assertion such as that very seriously. There is no correlation between advertising and editorial visibility for any candidate on Newsmax.”
However, Daddi noted that soliciting political advertisements is commonplace in the industry.
“If candidates want to reach our audience outside of our programming, then, of course, advertising would be a good way for them to do this. That is the basis of all political advertising.”
Daddi continued, adding:
As is true for all networks, if candidates want to reach our audience outside of our programming, then, of course, advertising would be a good way for them to do this. That is the basis of all political advertising, whether it be on Newsmax, FNC, CNN or MSNBC.
Semafor also published Newsmax's denial but noted that Ramaswamy's accusation is indicative of a pattern at the network that also allows sitting members of Congress to host opinion shows.
For example, Republican presidential candidate Perry Johnson GOP candidate, who runs paid ads on Newsmax, has not only appeared regularly on Newsmax as a candidate but has also hosted a prime-time show on Sunday in addition to being the target of a recurring “documentary-style show.”
“Ramaswamy's account of his conversation comes with a persuasive data point. Ruddy's comments, as reported by the candidate, raise the question of why else Newsmax would be devoting so much attention to [Perry] Johnson, who is more closely tied to the network than anyone except Trump,” noted the report.
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