Trump’s Newsmax Clash Explained After Reporter Presses Him on Iran and ICE
Trump cut off a Newsmax reporter mid-question, then joked he would “take CNN” instead.
Published March 24 2026, 9:59 a.m. ET
Despite its right-leaning stance, Newsmax is not off-limits when it comes to President Donald Trump’s frustration. The latest blowup felt less like a full-on feud with the network and more like a very public moment where Trump snapped at a reporter who asked questions he did not want, especially from a usually friendly outlet. The exchange has people wondering why Trump would come for Newsmax at all and whether something deeper is going on.
Why is Donald Trump upset with Newsmax?
During a March 23 press gaggle in West Palm Beach, Newsmax White House correspondent Mike Carter pressed Trump on Iran before pivoting to a question about ICE agents being sent to airports. That is when things took a turn. Mike challenged Trump’s credibility right out of the gate. He told the president that Iran’s foreign ministry claimed Trump was “not telling the truth” about “productive conversations” to end the war. Trump brushed it off, saying Iran needed better public relations.
However, the tone shifted fast. When Mike tried to follow up — “Mr. President, you deployed ICE agents to American airports today” — Trump cut him off mid-question. He asked Mike who he worked for, and once Mike said Newsmax, Trump fired back, “You’re not doing a very good job.”
Trump then dismissed him completely and turned to another outlet, saying, “I’m taking CNN over Newsmax.” He kept the shade going, adding, “I don’t think he’s going to be at Newsmax long.”
The weird part was not just the insult. It was the target. Newsmax is widely viewed as a Trump-friendly, conservative outlet, and Reuters describes it as a conservative cable news channel. Additionally, Newsmax’s 2025 Dominion settlement showed internal records suggesting the company leaned into an audience that believed Trump won the 2020 election, according to the AP.
Who owns Newsmax?
The company’s own investor materials say Christopher Ruddy is its CEO and majority shareholder. Christopher has long been described as a Trump ally.
There is one more wrinkle, but it is still just that — a wrinkle, not a proven reason. According to People, Christopher and Newsmax had just joined the opposition to the FCC’s approval of Nexstar’s merger with TEGNA. However, it was unclear whether that played any role in Trump’s irritation toward Mike.
Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump and his administration have not just insulted reporters and limited press access. In February 2025, Trump said the Associated Press would be blocked from the Oval Office and Air Force One until it used “Gulf of America” instead of Gulf of Mexico, according to NPR. Later that month, the White House barred the AP, Reuters, HuffPost, and Der Tagesspiegel from Trump’s first Cabinet meeting under a new policy giving the administration more control over who gets into smaller press events.
His language toward individual reporters has stayed just as nasty. In November 2025, Trump told a female reporter, “Quiet, piggy,” when she asked about Jeffrey Epstein. In February, he also went after CNN’s Kaitlan Collins again, calling her the “worst reporter” and accusing CNN of dishonesty when she asked about Epstein survivors.