Newsmax Host Frantically Ends Interview When Guest Spews Election Claims: We Do ‘Not Believe The Election Was Rigged!’

A pro-Trump host at Newsmax frantically ended a live interview with a guest who appeared ready to spout conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

Todd Starnes , a host on Newsmax streaming service N2, spoke with commentator Gabrielle Cuccia on August 27 about Mark Zuckerberg’s admission that Facebook parent company Meta was pressured in 2021 to censor Covid-related content by the Biden administration.

During the live segment, Cuccia inaccurately said Donald Trump was “rightly and duly elected” in the 2020 election, which he in fact lost to President Joe Biden by millions of votes.

She then stated the Biden administration was “very guilty” of suppressing “particular stories of information” like claims of election fraud — at which point her mic appeared to be cut off.

Starnes interjected: “Well, let me jump in here. No, no, no no, no, hold on, hold on, Gabrielle, again let me jump in here and we’re going to have to wrap this interview.”

He continued: “Again, Newsmax certainly does not believe that the election was rigged and we just cannot go down that path.”

After Cuccia was cut, Starnes reiterated the network does not believe the 2020 presidential election was rigged — a claim that was invented by Trump after his 2020 loss and eventually embraced by the Republican Party and many in conservative media. This week, Cuccia posted the segment on X, formerly Twitter.

Fact-checking Trump’s claims about the 2020 election is an awkward position to be in for the network that has emerged as one of his most fervently supportive outlets.

The alternative, however, is potentially costly: Newsmax is currently being sued by two voting tech companies, Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic, who allege the network defamed them by promoting Trump’s election lies. Newsmax’s Smartmatic trial begins on September 30. Dominion famously settled its lawsuit against Fox News for similar sins to the tune of $787.5 million.

In August 2023, Newsmax began issuing an on-air disclaimer stating the network had accepted the results of the 202o presidential election as “legal and final.”

The disclaimer came after Trump appeared on the network and claimed the election was “rigged,” but also as Dominion sought internal communications between Newsmax and Trump staffers as part of their lawsuit’s discovery process.

The latest awkward encounter with Trump’s election lies comes as Todd Starnes, who previously served as a host on Fox News Radio, is poised to see his star rise at Newsmax.

Several insiders at the network said he’s a top contender for taking over Eric Bolling’s vacated prime time slot. Another contender for the job is Rob Finnerty , who currently anchors Newsmax’s morning show, “Wake Up America.”

Still, anxiety is running high at Newsmax. A number of staffers are plotting their exit ahead of the Smartmatic and Dominion trials, which are perceived internally as a lethal threat to the struggling network.

“Moderate concern has exploded into widespread panic among staffers that Newsmax’s days are numbered,” one Newsmax insider told Mediaite. “The used-car salesman style approach to pitching shares to viewers ahead of an IPO has seemed to many like a last ditch effort to pad ultra-tight budgets and likely help fund an upcoming settlement. The common theme is that Newsmax simply can’t afford a settlement of the magnitude that was reached with Fox News and Dominion.”

They added, “Even if Newsmax somehow survives lawsuits, many feel that the network will go under if ]Kamala] Harris wins the election. [Newsmax CEO Chris] Ruddy is so desperate to be accepted in Trumpworld and Palm Beach that he has devoted much of the programming to Trump interests. Staffers are aggressively networking and applying to jobs to avoid going down with the sinking ship.”

A former high-level staffer at Newsmax expressed a similar sentiment: “Rats are known to sense an impending seaward disaster; they are generally the first to toss themselves off a distressed ship. Similarly, sensing imminent and the existential threat of the Smartmatic and Dominion trials, there are several producers, bookers and even some directors who are actively seeking jobs away from Newsmax. Even C-Suiters are looking to get out before Smartmatic and Dominion take the place down.”