00:00We have criticisms of President Trump. These are huge numbers.
00:03People are voting with their remote controls.
00:06Give them a few months and I think you'll be impressed.
00:15Welcome to The Big Question, a series from Euronews where we speak to some of the most
00:21influential people in the world of business. I'm Angela Barnes and today I'm joined virtually by
00:28Chris Ruddy, co-founder and CEO of US news outlet Newsmax. Chris, thank you ever so much for joining
00:34us on the program. Well, Angela, I'm glad to be here. Newsmax recently IPO'd, went public and floated
00:40on the New York Stock Exchange and did incredibly well with your share price rising over 2,200%
00:49soon afterwards. That turned you into essentially practically a billionaire overnight. Can you tell
00:55me about that? Well, it's still a euphoric moment. We only just went public on the New York Stock
01:00Exchange March 31st. So just a few weeks into this, it's been very good. We're not as high. I mean,
01:07what happened was there was so much initial demand. There were limited number of shares trading those
01:12first few days, especially that it exploded the stock. Now it's come down to earth, but it's still
01:19over 100% higher than when we went out, which is incredible in a down market.
01:31Now, Chris, tell us here in Europe a little bit more about Newsmax and your general philosophy.
01:38Well, you know, I started Newsmax in 98. So we started as a digital media company. Newsmax.com
01:44became one of the leading conservative news brands online. But we actually started a cable
01:51news channel relatively recently in 2014. It has become the number five of all American cable
01:57channels. Newsmax is very, we're very American. And America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles.
02:04We're a nation of faith. I know in Europe, it's not in vogue to cite faith, to reference faith,
02:11to, but I am a believer in Jesus Christ. But, you know, we have people of all religions in Newsmax.
02:19But we recognize that the American people would like to see news that reflect their values and
02:26the founding principles of the country, which has really great things like respect for other people,
02:31tolerance that comes out of Christianity. And so, you know, I think these are great American values.
02:37And that's why it's resonating with the audience. They like it. Nielsen reported we had 34 million
02:42viewers tune in last quarter, up 50 percent from the previous year. You know, these are huge numbers.
02:50And then Reuters Institute did a study last year, and they said there are 12 top U.S. news brands.
02:55We were one of them. So we have had an incredible rise, although it's been a little longer than most
03:00people think. And I think it's I think it's really the American people. It's not just us. I mean,
03:06we are putting out a quality product on Newsmax, but people are voting with their remote controls,
03:13with their downloads, with their apps. And they're saying they want Newsmax. They want
03:18alternative media here in the United States. The media has gone so left, so woke in so many ways,
03:24and they really are in a lot of alternatives. So Newsmax is here. Now, Chris, I understand you're
03:30very good friends with U.S. President Donald Trump. What's he like beyond the headlines and public
03:37persona that we all see? Well, you know, I've known President Trump for almost 30 years. We're
03:44friends. We talk a lot, not always on politics. We'll talk about things like golf and mutual friends and
03:52things. And he'll give me health advice. I remember once he told me that I should take up golf,
03:58not for playing golf, but that I wouldn't eat so much because I'd be on the golf course. And this
04:02is his sort of practical way of thinking on the world. They say integrity is about your personality,
04:07right? That you're very similar in your approach, but both privately and publicly. And really what you
04:12see is what you get. You know, they do all these investigations. They found out there was really
04:16no secret side of Donald Trump. There was no even like devious. Everything's there. And he likes putting
04:22things out in tweets. That's his way of doing it. He just is a very transparent guy. We've never had
04:28a president that speaks to the press so often, takes questions, open-minded to issues and things
04:34like that. So he's a little unusual. I know he rocks the boat. Some people in Europe don't like him so
04:39much. I understand that. But I think if you look at how he left the world when he was in his first
04:45term, we basically had peace around the world. And Trump is now putting out fires in the U.S.
04:50It's a really nasty brew of things that he's dealing with. Give him a few months and I think
04:56you'll be impressed. And does your friendship with President Trump affect your content on Newsmax,
05:03do you think? He has indicated Newsmax is his favourite channel in the U.S. He has certainly
05:08encouraged people to tune in. Newsmax is always, we describe ourselves as independent news with a
05:14conservative perspective. We welcome liberal perspectives. We have criticisms of President
05:20Trump. There are a lot of people, both left and right in America, that don't like the tariff policy.
05:25They're on Newsmax all the time. So, but I still have tremendous respect and admiration for my friend.
05:33I think he has done an amazing job, outperformed actually. And I know people are very jittery over the
05:39tariffs and various positions on Ukraine and so forth. But I always say, give him a little time.
05:48He knows how to work his magic and sometimes it takes a little time.
05:53Now, Chris, I'm also interested to get your thoughts on what you think the role of media
05:57should be across the world, including here in Europe.
06:01Well, you know, I studied in Europe in the London School of Economics in England.
06:05When I was a student back in the 80s, I was very impressed by the diversity of the British press
06:11and the identity of so many. You know, I would enjoy reading The Guardian. It was a liberal paper
06:16at the time, but, and they let it, you know that it was liberal, but they had a lot of insights that
06:21that you wouldn't get, let's say, in the conservative press. The British press has become somewhat more
06:25ossified since then. But Europe, I'm disappointed. Generally, there doesn't seem like on television,
06:33they say there's very few alternatives. And I think it's, it ends up being more, gives more stability
06:38that you have more diverse press.
06:40And finally, Chris, what's next for Newsmax? Any plans to expand?
06:45Well, we have licenses in over 100 countries, five continents that carry Newsmax. For example,
06:54in France, Molotov, which is the largest online carrier, has Newsmax. You can listen to it in
06:59English, in Freeview in Britain. In Serbia, we have Newsmax Serbia, that has been a powerful local
07:06language news outlet and gets a lot of attention. People go there from around the world, been
07:12interviewed. It's been fantastic. So all of these are very good things. And I think it's a sign that
07:18the people around the world and with AI, we just launched, for instance, in DirecTV, Latin America
07:25and Dominican Republic, where people can actually get our English channel with AI dubbing in Spanish.
07:31So maybe we can do that someday in Germany, for instance, or Italy, which would be fun
07:36and give them access to American news.
07:39Well, Chris, thank you so much for joining me today on The Big Question. It's been an absolute
07:44pleasure to have you on the show.
07:47Well, Angela, really glad to be with you.
Comments