Newsmax Denies Report They Offered Vivek Ramaswamy More Air Time for Ad Buys

Newsmax is pushing back against a report suggesting Vivek Ramaswamy was offered more time on the network in exchange for increased ad buys.

Semafor reported on Sunday that Ramaswamy shared a private call with Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy in which the entrepreneur complained about not being given prime time slot guest appearances.

Ruddy suggested buying more ad space, Semafor reported, citing two people who claimed to have heard about the exchange from Ramaswamy.

Newsmax pushed back on the report though, completely denying any connection between air time on the network and ad sales.

"That Newsmax is asking candidates to advertise in order to ensure coverage as some quid pro quo … is categorically untrue and incorrect. Newsmax would take an assertion such as that very seriously. There is no correlation between advertising and editorial visibility for any candidate on Newsmax," network spokesperson Bill Daddi told Semafor.

The spokesperson added that Newsmax covered Ramaswamy early in his campaign, before he saw a jump in the polls.

"As is true for all networks, if candidates want to reach our audience outside of our programming, then, of course, advertising would be a good way for them to do this," Daddi said. "That is the basis of all political advertising, whether it be on Newsmax, FNC, CNN or MSNBC."