Trump TV.
Anything that gets him to stop committing rhetorical arson about phantom voter fraud and focus on life after the presidency sounds good to me. Although, if there really is a scheme afoot to buy Newsmax and convert it into a full-fledged Trump propaganda channel, it’s strange that the World’s Greatest Negotiator has already begun trying to convince Fox News viewers to make the switch. All he’s doing with that is bidding up the selling price, helping Newsmax build up a viewer base. According to this WSJ report about a potential sale, the network saw its primetime audience increase by 156 percent during election week and its 7 p.m. show drew more than a million viewers, far more than it ever has before. Fox isn’t going to go bankrupt, but a meaningful portion of its audience seems willing to hold a grudge over the network’s early call of Arizona for Biden and its projection that he’s won the presidency. Which means this seems like another case of Trump’s spite ultimately damaging his own interests. The moment to start hyping Newsmax is after it’s been acquired by your allies, not before. But he couldn’t resist lashing out at Fox. The Newsmax pursuit is being led by private-equity deal-making pioneer and Trump supporter Thomas Hicks. The family’s private-equity outfit, Hicks Equity Partners, is looking to raise at least $200 million for its efforts in right-leaning media and has spoken with wealthy conservative families about the deal, people familiar with the matter say. One of Mr. Hicks’s sons, Thomas Hicks Jr., co-chairs the Republican National Committee. He is unlikely to participate in any deal while he holds an RNC post, said a person close to the Hicks family… An acquisition of Newsmax, which is based in West Palm Beach, Fla., would be part of a larger plan to assemble a network of channels aimed at conservatives, according to a pitch that was made to investors. Another channel would provide family-friendly entertainment programming. The Hicks group has identified a team of executives who would help manage the network if the deal were completed, the people familiar with the matter said. An interesting footnote: The Hicks group reportedly talked to Megyn Kelly about possibly coming aboard when it considered buying OAN earlier this year.
