Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy appeared on MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports Tuesday afternoon to talk in part about President Trump's relationship with the media and the media's coverage of Trump's foreign policy towards Russia.
Ruddy hammered MSNBC for, not just their one sided coverage on Trump and Russia, but the hyperbolic language that often comes with it from the liberal network. The Newsmax CEO argued, "For example, somebody earlier said that the President was an intelligence asset for the Russians."
Ruddy was probably referring to earlier in the show where a panel was seemingly unbothered by the fact that Andrew McCabe, an unelected bureaucrat, decided launch an investigation into the President, because the President exercised his Constitutional power to sack then-FBI Director James Comey and to potentially pursue policies that McCabe disagreed with.
Mitchell tried to interrupt and ask who earlier had referred to Trump as a Russian asset, but Ruddy continued and asserted:
"Let me finish my point. The FBI opens an investigation, Andrea, when there's evidence of a crime. The only reason this thing with Russia has ever come to fruition is there was a political dossier that the political campaign, the Clintons and the DNC paid for, the Clinton Presidential Campaign, that's provable."
Ruddy finished off by saying that while he supports the President, he runs articles on Newsmax that are critical of him, but there is a difference between criticizing him and accusing, "The President of being a Russian mole, a Russian asset, you know, and I keep hearing this on your network. I'm not saying you do it, I think you're a fair journalist. But, I keep hearing it and it's very frustrating."
Here is a transcript for the February 19 show:
MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports
12:31 p.m. Eastern
ANDREA MITCHELL: Joining me now, long time Trump confidant Chris Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax media, thanks very much Chris, for being with us. The President had just made this emergency declaration, he had gone to Mar-a-Lago. He's being criticized on many sides. Was he -- what was his mood, I guess is the main question?
CHRIS RUDDY: I think he was in a great mood and very confident. He was very pleased by the reception he's gotten from the State of the Union Address. I think the vexing thing for him is a lot of the media coverage. I was just watching your show in the lead-up to my interview here. There are so many misleading statements that are constantly made. For example, somebody earlier said that the President was an intelligence asset of the Russians.
MITCHELL: Wait a second. Who --
RUDDY: Let me finish my point. The FBI opens an investigation, Andrea, when there's evidence of a crime. The only reason this thing with Russia has ever come to fruition is there was a political dossier that the political campaign, the Clintons and the DNC paid for, the Clinton Presidential Campaign, that's provable. It had widely discredited allegations. There's no proof that the President or his campaign worked with the Russians. Then there's this insinuation that the FBI Director McCabe felt that the firing of Comey was the cause of another investigation into the President. The President has never tried to stop the Russia probe. There's no evidence he ever tried. He did fire Comey. He never took any steps to close down the Russia probe. In fact rather than exercising his rights as President not to allow interviews and document transfers, he turned everything over to the special counsel, which probably was a mistake, but he did it because he's been acting in a way, I think anybody that looks at this fairly, and I know it's probably a shock to some of your viewers to hear this point of view, but it's vexing to I'm sure him and certainly people like myself when we don't have a balance in the media on some of the accusation than are the wild accusations that are being made.
(....)
RUDDY: Why accuse the President of being a Russian mole, a Russian asset, you know, and I keep hearing this on your network. I'm not saying you do it, I think you're a fair journalist. But I keep hearing it and it's very frustrating. I'm a friend of the President but I criticize the president….
MITCHELL: I know you do.
RUDDY: If you go to Newsmax, you'll see some articles that are supportive, some are critical of him, but I think in fairness, he can live with a lot of criticism. I think he would just like to see a fair shake from you guys and he just never gets that sense.
