Could it be the protracted conflict that there's been the off again, on again, the negotiations, the kinetic activity and then back to negotiations? Is that part of the maybe part of the concern that the American people have?

Sure.

I think people are not completely happy with how the war's gone, but these things are never quick and easy.

They're never clean.

They're never usually simple.

People die in these conflicts, but there's a reason why.

Just the idea that somehow we can have a major conflict and not have any sacrifices made is a little bit unusual, I think, and unfair to the president.

Your response?

And to me, I think the number one goal we have, all of us on the right, our platform, your platform, all of our platforms, every elected official, the president, the White House, everybody on down, is we have to figure out how we don't let this become a spillover in 28 like it was from 74 to 76 and it was from 06 to 08. one do you agree with that and then two if the president called you up right after you got off the air here and said chris how do we avoid that happening what would you recommend

well i do think we have run a risk and i think what you're saying of losing the presidency and the democrats keeping the congress it would be catastrophic because i think they will pack the supreme court i think they will make puerto rico or washington dc a state and they basically want to lock in their power so these elections These are not the old Democrats, right? These are radicalized DSA.

They believe in elections only for the purpose of implementing their goals.

It's sort of like Chavez's Venezuela, right? He used elections and then he used the power of the state to close down any real elections.

And I'm afraid that's what we're moving to.

And they're highly, I mean, they're highly politicized, highly polarizing these folks.

And I think if they were to get the presidency, I think President Trump realizes this.

How healthy are they? Because that's going to have a lot to say about what the next two years are going to

Mm-hmm

... that Israel endured.

And, uh, all of these years later, Hamas still controls 60 to 70% of Gaza.

And that's not due to the failings of Benjamin Netanyahu or the Israelis, it's the failings of the United States government and others that have refused to allow them to go in and clean house and stop these jihadists from running that, that area within, within Israel.

You know, the, the way the story is, so many things have happened since then.

The narrative has changed, uh, through media spins, social media, propaganda.

Um, Gaza basically had its own independence.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

And that turned out to be a strategic mistake, because they weren't really interested in building up the country.

They were interested in digging down and building tunnels so they could kill Jews, and they did that with abandon on October 7th of 2023.

And, um, Israel is still facing that, that conflict, but it's in... opened up a propaganda war that as Israel tried to fight back, get its hostages released, it was considered the aggressor.

It was considered engaging in genocide, which are all false if you look at it.

There was no effort to kill or exterminate the general population there, which is what genocide is.

Uh, in fact, they showed a lot of restraint.

Hmm.

Mm-hmm.

And they quickly elected radical H- Hamas people, jihadists, that got rid of democracy and created a terrorist-run organization.

And the Israelis said, "Okay, you wanna be governed by terrorists? We'll let you governed by terrorists.

You can just stay there." And that turned out to be a strategic mistake, because they weren't really interested in building up the country.

They were interested in digging down and building tunnels so they could kill Jews, and they did that with abandon on October 7th of 2023.

And, um, Israel is still facing that, that conflict, but it's, and opened up a propaganda war that as Israel tried to fight back, get its hostages released, it was considered the aggressor.

It was considered engaging in genocide, which are all false if you look at it.

Mm-hmm.

Right.

And so it's not, these things take a little time and effort too, and patience, and I've gone through that whole internet technology.

Now we're going through this AI thing and just, I never know exactly.

People say, "What are you gonna do in five years in your business?" I said, "How would I even know?" You know, I remember when we started the internet, who would think that Wi-Fi would be like, and this would, and tremendously make availability of the internet, um, or that we would be operating the internet so much on our phones.

It was all laptop and desktop and so all of that's changed.

My background was my father was a Nassau County policeman, World War II vet, served, um, and, uh, in the military and then, uh, went into, uh, thought there was gonna be a Great Depression again, 'cause his father told him that, and he went into the police, uh, for job security, and he liked being a policeman I guess.

And, um, he did that, and then I went, fortunately I had great parents.

Right.

Do they have a chance against the Democrats? No.

None of them are Donald Trump.

So just start there.

I don't think Vance.

I don't think any of these guys.

I'm disappointed in Vance because of especially his attacks on Israel, I think, are beyond bizarre that the Israelis are killing people.

They've got to stop.

Christian Muslims or

Tell us a little bit about the secret behind all this great success.

Well, it's not just Newsmax, and I think both of our successes, that there's millions of people out there that are demanding.

There's a real need for balanced news, fair news.

The other side, they're not getting from the media.

You and I have been on the same journey in the media world for a long time.

You were a famous AP chief for a while back, and I was a journalist covering the Clinton White House and other things.

And back then, I think we'd both agree the media was liberal, but it never was like completely crazy, right? The New York Times, the AP, they tried to have a little semblance.

Can he bring the lagging candidates up there with a little bit of extra work in those states?

Right.

I mean, tremendous developments globally, very good record, except Iran is still a work in progress.

I think he's shown real leadership on that.

I think it's early in this, and I think he's done the right thing, and it's gonna be painful.

But overall, he's got a tremendous record.

He should have no problem The one little problem I think he has is, and he was right on this, he said, "We need to lower interest rates." Well, they're at the highest in recent memory.

They haven't been lowered.

Right.

Are you in awe of the willingness for media outlets to work as propaganda vehicles?

Look, it used to be the ABC, they had some integrity, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, they would have some sensibility about them, right? That's all gone out the window.

They've just become the openly mouthpieces of the Democratic Party, now the DSA.

The New York Times is the most shameless, probably, in the country.

And, you know, the media research center study of the 24 elections showed that 80% of the press reports about Donald Trump were negative, major media.

90% of the press reports about Kamala Harris were positive.

Now, how can you tell me that media isn't fair? They say they're fair, they're balanced, they're real journalism.

So I love the fact that you did it, and that you did it with $25,000 only makes the story even better, doesn't it?

Chris Ruddy, Newsmax.

Well, I would not be in favor.

I appreciate your thoughts on it, but I would not be in favor of doing any national emergency because I like the democratic process to work itself out.

And I like Congress to pass a law the president could sign.

And I think that we don't want to start a precedent that every time the president, the Congress doesn't agree or they can't get things through, the president declares a national emergency.

I understand your anger.

I understand your frustration about the voter ID.

So assuming everything stays the way it is right now, what are the odds we win the midterms? And what would be your plan to help us to do better in the midterms? What do you think is the best way to go?

Chris Ruddy, Newsmax.

Well, I would not be in favor.

I appreciate your thoughts on it, but I would not be in favor of doing any national emergency because I like the democratic process to work itself out, and I like Congress to pass a law the president could sign.

And I think that we don't want to start a precedent that every time the president of Congress doesn't agree or they can't get things through, the president declares a national emergency.

I understand your anger.

I understand your frustration about the voter ID.

The way this has always been done in America— is that the states do local elections.

So assuming everything stays the way it is right now, what are the odds we win the midterms? And what would be your plan to help us to do better in the midterms? What do you think is the best way to go?

So Chris, strategy for the midterms, what is it that should be paramount in your view? Is there a particular issue, or what is it that should be front and center?

Well, a couple of things.

First of all, Trump really does have a pretty good record.

I mean, not everything's perfect, but he, he whipped inflation.

He dealt with massive inflation under Biden.

The economy's been coming back.

The big beautiful bill's just h- helping this, just hitting this year.

Mm-hmm

What is it that should be paramount in your view? Is there a particular issue, or what is it that should be front and center?

center?Well, a couple of things.

First of all, Trump really does have a pretty good record.

I mean, not everything's perfect, but he, he whipped inflation.

He dealt with massive inflation under Biden.

The economy's been coming back.

The big, beautiful bill's just h- helping this, just hitting this year.

Mm-hmm

And I'm wondering, you know, based on where we are now, do you think the president has done that? Has he ushered in this golden age?

Well, I think it's early, right? He's a year and a half into his presidency, and the amazing things he's done, I don't think any other president in a year and a half.

People forget.

People are angry with him.

It's only a year and a half.

He whipped inflation.

Biden left him with a mess.

Are you sensing that as well?

What do you think's gonna happen?

Well, I'm, I'm hearing that it looks pretty good for Ralph Norman.

And I'm, uh, li- I don't know his sister.

I never met her before.

I knew Lindsey very well.

I knew him for 20 years almost and, um, I supported him.

I thought he was a great senator.

... to pay the subscription

It's a very intimate way to kill somebody, which is-

Well, I think the media has an agenda.

They want to really bring home these questions and questions about the war, whatever, gas prices, so that they get people angry with the president of the Republican Party.

And it's, frankly, it's working, right? And they still dominate, you know, even most of the, you think the internet gives a lot of diversity.

It's still largely controlled by the left.

All the big internet companies are.

AI is even getting increasingly controlled.

I've never seen anything like that, and I think that is going to, uh, bite the Democrats in the rear end, particularly with those who are in the military.

Right.

So, um, I've been covering politics, I've been watching politics since the Reagan years, right? I, I had met Ronald Reagan.

I had worked in his campaign.

I think the mid- we're heading for catastrophe in the midterms.

I don't, I, I don't see the numbers, and every special election has pointed to big turnouts for the Democrats, for the left, uh, by a big factor.

Just take Florida in the primaries, okay? In the state of Florida, Republicans outnumber in registered voters two million.

They have a two million advantage.

What is your vision for Newsmax, Chris Ruddy, as you go forward? The next step, your vision, what is it?

All right, Chris, I'll let you, uh, deliver the news, how well we did this quarter, or this last quarter.

Well, Greta, thank you so much.

We just announced at 4:00, now that the market's closed, uh, the New York Stock Exchange, um, that we had our second quarter results.

They're fantastic.

They exceeded our expectations.

They exceeded the expectations of some, some of the analysts that covered us.

Um, broadcast revenues were up 21%.

We got a lot going on here.

So what does this July 4th tell us about the state of the union? Nick Robinson spoke to Chris Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax and friend of the president.

I think the country's happy about the 250, but it seems to be a passing moment.

Not as many events as you would think leading up to this moment.

Now, I know we're entering the 250th year, but usually after the initial celebration, everything's anticlimactic.

The country's united, but not to the same degree that it was, and I think there's a lot of polarization in America, and that may be undermining some of the celebratory effects of this that should be felt by everyone.

And did the president, did Donald Trump set up his own organization, Freedom 250, as against the official one, America 250, because he wanted to put his own stamp on US history?

Well, I don't know his motivation for doing that.

I can tell you that he does seem to want to align this celebration very much with the presidency.

You know, when you look out five years, what do you think this could be, certainly without giving away your strategy?

Well, one thing I do say about the company now, and I think it portends well for the future, is I say we're all for all.

We're on all platforms for all people.

We're on almost all platforms that are out there.

We have text messaging if you want news.

We have emails.

We have print even.

How about international? I know you've announced some distribution agreements recently, but it seems like a huge opportunity for Newsmax.