Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy praised President Donald Trump for being more accessible to the media than “anybody can remember,” but said he didn’t agree with the White House decision to suspend the credentials of CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta.
Appearing on CNN’s Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter, Ruddy strongly criticized Acosta’s line of questioning to the president, saying he “crossed a line.”
But he thought the White House overreacted by withdrawing his credentials.
“I believe it was overreach by the White House in suspending his credentials on the basis of that,” he said. “I think there were a lot of other intermediate steps they should have taken.”
Ruddy said though the media are judging the president, “the public is also judging the media.”
“The president has much higher approval ratings” from Americans than they give the media, he said.
Ruddy also defended President Trump as, “the most pro-veteran president anyone can remember” even as he’s come under media fire for failing to attend two recent veteran-focused events.
“I would rather have someone not necessarily speaking sweet words, but doing good deeds,” Ruddy said, noting the President’s accomplishments in helping Veterans.
Though Trump “has had A plus-performance rating” for his handling of economic, military and security issues, “he is being mired with all of these press attacks all day long… on whether he doesn't make a cemetery visit,” Ruddy said, referring to his absence at Arlington Cemetery on Veterans Day, which Trump said he regretted.
“He is the most pro-veteran president anyone can remember,” Ruddy asserted, also lashing out at the media’s “all day long hammering” Trump for missing one of four WWI memorial events in Europe earlier this month.
Ruddy pointed to Trump’s effort to rebuild the Veterans Administration.
“He has been a champion of that,” he said. “I’m concerned about how much he is taxing the economy and whether he is concerned about our military — those questions have been answered.”
“I think the White House could do a lot better job with communications because the president has such an incredible story but we never hear about it,” he continued, noting: “I think the economy, which is more than doubled in GDP growth over the Obama years, that has been a fantastic story. It doesn't get out there.”
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