Newsmax Hires Ex-Trump Official Richard Grenell As Vice President and On Air Analyst

Alex GriffingDec 16th, 2021, 4:20 pm
 

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Conservative cable news network Newsmax announced on Wednesday it hired Donald Trump’s former acting Director of National Intelligence as a vice president and on-air analyst.

The move comes as Newsmax grapples with Fox News’ reemergence in 2021 as the dominant cable news network, particularly among conservative, pro-Trump viewers. Newsmax started the year off with strong ratings and appeared poised to offer some real competition to Fox from the right, but has since failed to connect with a large audience.

For example, in November 2021 Fox News prime time brought in an average audience of around 2.5 million total viewers, while Newsmax, on any given day, lands closer to 120,000 total average viewers in prime time.

“Ric Grenell is a master of politics, media, and government and we believe our viewers will gain great insight from his broad experience and public service,” Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax said in a statement.

“I am honored to join Newsmax as a National Security Contributor and also to spearhead their international partnerships,” Grenell added in the statement.

Grenell, who is openly gay and lives in Palm Springs, California, is popular in conservative circles and was touted as a potential candidate to run against Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) in September’s recall election. Grenell eventually decided not to jump into the race.

Before serving as acting Director of National Intelligence, Grenell was the U.S. Ambassador to Germany. During his posting, he stirred controversy in Germany with comments he made to Breitbart in June 2018, saying he wanted to “empower” conservatives in Europe. He later doubled down on those comments and openly criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s immigration policies while on Tucker Carlson Tonight in November 2018.

Grenell was formerly a Fox News contributor and has been a regular guest on various programs.

He is also known for his prolific Twitter presence, often engaging in the culture war with satirical and snide comments while criticizing Democrats on the issues of the day.

Here are a few examples:

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Alex Griffing - Senior Editor

Alex Griffing is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Send tips via email: alexanderg@mediaite.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alexgriffing