Jeffrey Lord, a former political director under President Ronald Reagan and current columnist with The American Spectator, believes AT&T (parent company) and DirecTV will regret canceling Newsmax from its channel lineup.
"This is just the latest chapter in this [cancel culture environment], and I suspect this will backlash [against A&T, DirecTV], big time," Lord said Friday on Newsmax's "American Agenda."
"The American left has been about this for a very long time. I remember, back in 2012, there was a campaign to get Rush Limbaugh off the radio, and pressure his sponsors to drop him," Lord said. "Seven of the sponsors did, but there was such an incredible backlash ... some of them begged to be taken back."
"Rush not only survived, he prospered. But this [cancel culture world] has been around for a long time," added Lord, a regular Newsmax contributor.
Lord also has memories of cancel culture coming for his old boss in Washington, D.C.
"Liberals in the Kennedy administration [1961-63] ... wanted General Electric to fire their Sunday night television host [on NBC] — an actor named Ronald Reagan — because he was giving speeches around the nation of being critical of the Kennedy [White House]," Lord said. "They did fire him."
In 1967, the Republican Reagan was sworn-in as governor of California. In 1976, he lost a closely fought Republican primary to President Gerald Ford.
In 1980, Reagan became the nation's 40th president, defeating President Jimmy Carter in a landslide election.
Similar to the Reagan and Limbaugh anecdotes, Lord said the Democrats and left-leaning media outlets likely won't find wisdom from this latest episode of trying to control conservatives through censorship or cancel culture.
Joseph Vazquez, who was on Friday's Newsmax panel with Lord, agreed.
"There is evidence here [with AT&T, DirecTV] of a double standard," said Vazquez, a journalist with the Media Research Center. The left is "trying to silence conservative voices."
Actions to Take Now
1. DirecTV customers: Call them toll free at 877-763-9762 and demand they bring NEWSMAX back on air. President Trump urges you CANCEL!
- Important: If DirecTV tells you we’re still negotiating, that is a lie! They have told NEWSMAX we will never be on a regular cable channel. DirecTV also replaced NEWSMAX with a channel that has no news and no ratings. Also, NEWSMAX's livestream is ending soon on other platforms, so unless you get it on DirecTV you will have to cancel their service.
2. AT&T customers: Call toll free at 888-855-2338, for any of their cellphones, wireless products, or services, and demand they end their censorship of NEWSMAX. President Trump has urged you to cancel their services.
3. Call your congressman or senator at 202-224-3121 and demand they stop AT&T/DirecTV’s censorship of NEWSMAX — ask them to give you a date on the hearings!
4. Go to our online petition and get more info at: iWantNewsmax.com.
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