From: super70s@super70s.invalid   
      
   Network's Trump-Loving MAGA Makeover Backfires   
   By Annabella Rosciglione   
   The Daily Beast   
   Mon, February 16, 2026 at 11:46 AM CST   
      
   NewsNation, the cable news network long marketed as "unbiased," is   
   facing backlash as current and former employees have accused it of   
   lurching right to appease the Trump administration.   
      
   The network's parent company, Nexstar, is seeking to acquire Tegna,   
   which owns 64 television stations in the U.S., in a deal valued at $6.2   
   billion if approved by the Federal Communications Commission.   
      
   President Donald Trump has voiced approval for the merger, posting on   
   his Truth Social platform that there needs to be "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,"   
        the president posted earlier this month. "Those that are opposed   
   don't fully understand   
        how good the concept of this Deal is for them, but they will in   
   the future. GET THAT   
        DEAL DONE! PRESIDENT DJT   
      
   "A lot of people within the network believe that the network has gone   
   hard right to appeal to Trump and Brendan Carr," one former employee   
   told Status.   
      
   In recent months, the network has made several high-profile hiring   
   decisions that appear to make the network more Trump-friendly.   
      
   The channel recently hired former Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich as   
   a primetime anchor. Her show is described by the network as "a   
   conservative take on the day's events while welcoming all viewpoints.   
   The goal: cutting through left-right bias in pursuit of plain facts and   
   honest analysis."   
      
   Some employees told Status they viewed her hiring as a sign that the   
   network was moving toward a Fox News knockoff, especially as Nexstar   
   and Tenga seek approval from Trump's FCC for the merger.   
      
   FCC chairman Brendan Carr congratulated Pavlich on social media shortly   
   after NewsNation announced it would give her a primetime show.   
      
   Pavlich came under particular fire from employees for using Trump   
   talking points related to the ICE detention of five-year-old Liam Ramos   
   in Minnesota. She claimed the boy had not been detained by ICE, a lie   
   the Trump administration had repeatedly said.   
      
   One current employee described Pavlich's remarks to Status as   
   "predictable," noting that she often promotes "pro-Trump garbage."   
      
   In addition to Palvich, the network has hired other pro-Trump   
   commentators, including Batya Ungar-Sargon, who hosts a weekend talk   
   show on the network, and several Fox News veterans such as Laura Ingle,   
   Chris Stirewalt, and Connell McShane.   
      
   Employees said the rightward lurch feels calculated and executives have   
   expressed interest in avoiding any reporting that would antagonize   
   Trump.   
      
   One former NewsNation employee said, "Trump obviously needs the media   
   to express fealty and help him tell his narrative, or get behind it,   
   and they seem willing to do that."   
      
   Still, the network has just a fraction of the viewers that other cable   
   news networks get each day. Between January 19 and February 11, Katie   
   Pavlich Tonight averaged 107,000 total viewers, compared to that same   
   timeframe when Fox News averaged 2.6 million viewers and the right-wing   
   network Newsmax saw an average of 183,000 viewers, suggesting that the   
   right-wing cable sphere is already crowded as NewsNation attempts to   
   carve out its own portion of viewers.   
      
   The Daily Beast reached out to a NewsNation representative for comment.   
      
   Nexstar came under fire last year and was accused of attempting to cozy   
   up to the Trump administration to secure approval of its merger with   
   Tenga. Nexstar preempted Jimmy Kimmel Live! on its ABC-affiliated   
   stations due to a monologue Kimmel delivered after the killing of   
   conservative activist Charlie Kirk.   
      
   At the time, Carr had threatened punitive action, including revoking   
   the broadcasting licenses of ABC stations that kept Kimmel on the air,   
   all while the multi-billion-dollar merger sat before him.   
      
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