âWHAT HAPPENED: Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) reportedly told donors that Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy would support his potential 2028 presidential bid.
đ¤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Senator Ted Cruz, Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, local news companies Ruddy is trying to cripple, and Vice President J.D. Vance as a likely 2028 presidential candidate.
đWHEN & WHERE: Cruz’s comments were reportedly made at a fundraiser late last year; Ruddy is set to testify before Cruz’s Senate committee on Tuesday.
đŹKEY QUOTE: “Neither [Chris Ruddy] nor Newsmax have made any pledge of support for any candidate in 2028,” said a Newsmax spokesman.
đŻIMPACT: Ruddy’s endorsement, if it materializes, could provide Cruz with a significant media platform, with Cruz possibly helping Ruddy’s efforts to prevent local news from competing with corporate national broadcasters.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) privately told donors that Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy would support a potential Cruz presidential campaign in 2028, according to a donorâs account. The comments were reportedly made as Ruddy was preparing to testify before Cruzâs Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation at a hearing titled âWe Interrupt This Program: Media Ownership and the Digital Age.â Notably, Ruddy is currently seeking to sabotage a merger between Nexstar Media Group and TEGNA, crippling the ability of local news to compete with corporate national broadcasters.
The Newsmax CEO has emerged as a leading opponent of the proposed merger between Nexstar and Tegna, arguing the deal would exceed federal broadcast ownership limits and consolidate power among left-leaning media companies. However, Ruddy has denied making any commitment to Cruz, with a Newsmax spokesman saying, âNeither he nor Newsmax have made any pledge of support for any candidate in 2028.â
President Donald J. Trump has taken the opposite position to Ruddy on the merger, urging Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval of the deal on Truth Social. âWe need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks,â he wrote.
Trumpâs endorsement of the merger places Ruddy, in opposition, alongside far-left Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representatives Maxwell Frost and Summer Lee.
Cruz, who chairs the Senate committee overseeing communications policy, has not publicly staked out a position on the proposed merger. However, he has often criticized the FCC under President Trump’s appointees, criticizing FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr for questioning ABCâs broadcast license over comments by Jimmy Kimmel blaming conservatives for the assassination of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk.
Cruz is weighing a possible 2028 presidential run that would likely place him in a Republican primary against Vice President J.D. Vance as the de facto neoconservative throwback candidate. Cruz has privately criticized Vance, with leaked audio capturing him calling the Vice President a âpawnâ of Tucker Carlson.
Vance, for his part, has said he plans to discuss a potential 2028 campaign with Trump after the midterm elections, while emphasizing that his current focus is governing.
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