Newsmax Wants To ‘Overtake’ Fox News Without Becoming ‘Trump TV’

The head of news outlet Newsmax told Variety that he’d welcome President Donald Trump as a host, but it will never become “Trump TV.”

Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy said in an interview published Sunday the network was not for sale, but it had been listening to investors. On the possibility that some of those investors with close ties to the president could buy Newsmax, Ruddy said his mission was to carry the network forward as an independent news agency.

“Newsmax would never become ‘Trump TV,'” he told Variety.

His comments came the same day that the Wall Street Journal reported that Hicks Equity Partners, a private equity firm that has ties to the Republican Party, expressed interest in acquiring Newsmax. The firm has no apparent connection to White House senior adviser Hope Hicks.

The Journal noted that Trump supporters have looked for years to unseat Fox News as the agency closest to the conservative agenda. Ruddy said he’s spoken with Thomas Hicks, who controls the equity firm, but largely in a casual setting.

“I have spoken to him on and off through the past three years, because we travel in political and social circles,” Ruddy said. “It’s nothing unusual for us to have a conversation.”

Ruddy acknowledged, however, that he was looking to rival Fox News, which saw viewership rise during the Trump presidency.

“We listen to them, but our main focus is continuing,” Ruddy said. “We would like to overtake Fox News in the next 12 months, and I think it’s do-able.”

According to television research firm Nielsen, Newsmax saw its prime-time audience surge 156% during the week of the election.

Trump is a former reality TV star with a fondness for the spotlight. In a separate interview with Yahoo! News, Ruddy said he believed Trump would "be very active in the media" once he leaves office.

Trump's appetite for consuming Fox News content is well-known, though he was at odds with the network after it was one of the first to call the Arizona contest for Joe Biden, helping the former vice president secure the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

Newsmax has yet to issue a call on the presidential contest.

“We are waiting for the states’ certification and the electoral college, but we will at some point when that happens,” said Ruddy. “We will be supportive of whoever the next president is.”

Trump has yet to concede the election despite Biden's 306 electoral votes.