Newsmax CEO shares his secrets to success as Trump’s favourite US channel sees its stock soar
After an explosive debut on the New York Stock Exchange, Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy joined Euronews’ business editor Angela Barnes on The Big Question to discuss the secret to the group’s success.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/05/newsmax-ceo-shares-his-secrets-to-success-as-trumps-favourite-us-channel-sees-its-stock-so
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After an explosive debut on the New York Stock Exchange, Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy joined Euronews’ business editor Angela Barnes on The Big Question to discuss the secret to the group’s success.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/05/newsmax-ceo-shares-his-secrets-to-success-as-trumps-favourite-us-channel-sees-its-stock-so
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
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.