Nexstarving for Trump’s Approval

On Thursday afternoon, as news outlets raced to cover the fallout from Donald Trump's war with Iran and his dramatic firing of Kristi Noem over her disastrous tenure as Homeland Security secretary, one cable news network was focused on something else entirely.

NewsNation, the little-watched cable outlet, logged onto its social media channels and posted a video captured in the White House briefing room.

"Just going to leave this here..." the network wrote alongside a clip showing press secretary Karoline Leavitt erupting at CNN chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins after she asked about Pete Hegseth's claim that the media focuses too much on dead soldiers to make Trump "look bad."

"If you're trying to argue right now that CNN's overwhelming coverage is not negative of President Donald Trump, I think the American people would tend to agree," Leavitt scolded Collins in the clip. "And your ratings would tend to disagree with that as well."

As the video zoomed in on a dismayed Collins, a spokesman's voice entered: "Think you're having a bad day? At least you're not CNN. No noise. No agenda. Asking the right questions for all Americans, on NewsNation."

The ad—aligning the cable network with a belligerent government as it assaults fellow members of the press—drew pushback from the outlet's own social media followers, some of whom denounced it as "inappropriate," "insulting," "embarrassing," and "unbelievably tone deaf and unprofessional." Inside CNN, the clip landed in similar fashion, Status has learned, with staffers dismissing the spot as "pathetic" and proof the outlet is "desperate for relevance."

And that may be partially be the case. Over the last week, CNN's viewership has soared as concerned Americans tune in for updates on Trump's confrontation with Iran, drawing an average of 878,000 viewers in total day audience, according to Nielsen data, while NewsNation drew just 121,000. In the coveted 25-54 demographic, CNN drew more than ten times NewsNation's audience.

A NewsNation spokeswoman didn’t respond to Status questions about the ad, but the loathsome spot carried far more meaning than a ratings ploy. NewsNation’s parent company Nexstar—the nation’s largest owner of local television stations—is pursuing a merger with rival broadcaster Tegna that would create a broadcasting juggernaut, reaching some 80% of U.S. households, a scale so vast it would violate FCC ownership rules capping any single company's reach at 39% of homes.

Last month, Trump endorsed the deal anyway, writing on his social network: "We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks. Letting Good Deals get done like Nexstar – Tegna will help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition, and at a higher and more sophisticated level."

Trump’s lapdog Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr dutifully followed, writing that "Trump is exactly right" claiming that national networks like Comcast and Disney "have amassed too much power" pushing "Hollywood & New York programming all over the country with no real checks."

Nexstar has spent months courting the administration as a MAGA-friendly mouthpiece—positing itself as the “anti-fake news,” while giving former Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich a (ratings challenged) primetime program on NewsNation alongside former Fox News anchor Leland Vittert. And last year it refused to air Jimmy Kimmel’s show after Carr publicly threatened Disney. Perry Sook, Nexstar’s chief executive, can barely contain his public fawning. On an earnings call last week, he saluted Trump, saying he "appreciates the support," before adding this week: "Having the endorsement of the nation's chief executive doesn't hurt in the regulatory agencies."

Meanwhile, more than two dozen groups, including free press advocates and newsroom unions, have loudly opposed the merger, warning it would slash already-decimated newsrooms coast to coast and hand vast control over local news coverage to a single entity based in Irving, Texas. With pressure mounting, a coalition of Democratic-led states is now preparing to launch an antitrust lawsuit to block the deal.

But as Nexstar relentlessly pursues its $6 billion merger, its executives have decided to sacrifice the reputation of its news network to get the deal across the finish line. As it desperately seeks the Trump administration's approval, it turns out the "no agenda" network has one. It just isn't about journalism.