The major expressed issue that resulted in the implosion of the Newsmax/Donald Trump presidential debate was Trump own presidential ambitions. But there’s another issue that has largely been ignored: Newsmax seems to have taken a side in the Republican presidential race.
When Newsmax was still promoting the debate, Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy penned a column vouching for the conservative credentials of Newt Gingrich, one of the two candidates who had committed to the debate.
Ruddy has since written another pro-Gingrich column asserting: “Can Newt Gingrich beat Barack Obama next November? Sure he can.” Ruddy goes on to downplay the idea that Mitt Romney is more electable, and even plays the Reagan card:
His record is so strong his critics can’t argue with it, so they focus on other issues. We keep hearing that Newt’s marriages will be an issue as well as his business dealings.
I recall that, in the 1970s, some said Ronald Reagan should be disqualified as a candidate because he had been divorced.
I believe the public understands they don’t elect saints, but want leaders who have positive solutions to the economic crisis we face.
If the head of Newsmax is throwing his weight behind Gingrich, that certainly would have been seen as much of an debate issue by the non-Gingrich candidates as Trump’s egomaniac ambitions. And a Trump-less debate, as Newsmax has hinted might still happen, will have that same hurdle.
No wonder most candidates were eager to avoid the Newsmax debate.