Policyband

Does Chris Ruddy Now Have a POTUS Problem?

President Trump tells Newsmax reporter Mike Carter, 'You’re not doing a good job, did you hear me?'

Ted Hearn

Mar 24, 2026 — 9 min read

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Trump: Did Mar-a-Lago member Chris Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax, just lose valet parking privileges at President Trump’s social club? Based on Trump’s abrupt treatment of a Newsmax White House reporter Monday, Ruddy appears to have some damage control ahead of him to patch things up with the President, his personal friend for many years. But Ruddy’s potential woes should not come as a surprise after his outspoken opposition to the Nexstar-TEGNA merger that Trump strongly supported as a check on dominant liberal TV networks like NBC (Comcast) and ABC (Disney). The Trump-Newsmax rift came to light as Trump took questions on the tarmac beside Air Force One in Florida. Newsmax reporter Mike Carter started to ask a question about three minutes into the session when Trump interrupted him.

“Mr. President, you deployed ICE agents to American airports today … ” Carter began, appearing off camera.

“Who are you with?” Trump said.

“Newsmax, sir,” Carter replied.

“You’re not doing a very good job,” Trump said.

Carter kept going. (More after paywall)