Trump Rails Against AT&T’s ‘Disgusting Move’ to Drop Newsmax Over Network’s Financial Demand

AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Former President Donald Trump went off on AT&T for dropping Newsmax amid their financial dispute after the expiration of their carriage agreement.

“This disgusting move comes after ‘de-platforming’ OAN last year,” Trump fumed. “The Radical Left seems to have taken over the mind and soul of AT&T. This is a big blow to the Republican Party, and to America itself. For DIRECTV to drop very popular NEWSMAX without explanation, will not be accepted. I, for one, will be dropping all association with AT&T and DIRECTV, and I have plenty. This is just one of many reasons why we must WIN IN 2024!!!”

DirecTV has explained that their decision to stop offering Newsmax stems from the network’s demand for rate increases, even though their content is freely available through an assortment of platforms.

Here’s a statement from spokesman for the service, via Hollywood Reporter:

On multiple occasions, we made it clear to Newsmax that we wanted to continue to offer the network, but ultimately Newsmax’s demands for rate increases would have led to significantly higher costs that we would have to pass on to our broad customer base. Anyone, including our customers, can watch the network for free via NewsmaxTV.com, YouTube.com and on multiple streaming platforms like Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Google Play. We continually evaluate the most relevant programming to provide our customers and expect to fill this available channel with new content.

Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy responded to the dropped carriage by calling it “a blatant act of political discrimination and censorship.”

“The most extreme liberal channels, even with tiny ratings, get fees from AT&T’s DirecTV,” Ruddy continued, “but Newsmax and OAN need to be deplatformed.”