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After news broke this week that DirecTV would be removing Newsmax from their extensive channel lineup, President Trump jumped on Truth Social to address what he called a “disgusting move.”
“WOW. AT&T DIRECTV REMOVES NEWSMAX FROM ITS CHANNEL LINEUP,” he wrote. “This disgusting move comes after ‘deplatforming’ OAN last year. 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.”
According to a report from Newsmax, DirecTV’s contract with the channel expired on Tuesday night, cutting the network from over 13 million homes.
Per Newsmax’s report:
“Despite Newsmax being the 4th highest-rated cable news channel in the nation, a top 20 cable news channel overall, and watched by 25 million Americans on cable alone, according to Nielsen, DirecTV said it was taking the step as a ‘cost-cutting’ measure and would never pay Newsmax a cable license fee.”
The move to drop Newsmax comes not even a year after Time Warner de-platformed One America News (OAN) in 2022.
“For DIRECTV to drop very popular NEWSMAX, without explanation, will not be accepted,” Trump continued. “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!!!”
In early 2022, President Trump urged Americans to boycott DirecTV after they cut OAN from their channel lineup. “I believe the people of this Country should protest the decision to eliminate OAN, a very important voice,” he said at the time. “…Demand that OAN be allowed to stay on the air. It is far bigger and more popular than anyone knows, and importantly, it represents the voice of a very large group of people!”
Per Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy, DirecTV’s latest cutthroat move to terminate Newsmax from their available channels “is a blatant act of political discrimination against Newsmax.”