Trump strains conservative media alliances in push for Nexstar-Tegna merger
One key conservative media company is signaling its strong opposition to the idea. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn before departing the White House on Feb. 6, 2026, in Washington. | Jose Luis Magana/AP President Donald Trump on Saturday urged federal authorities to complete a proposed $6.2 billion merger between media companies Nexstar and Tegna, his latest effort to exert greater influence over the American media landscape and one that’s already ticked off a key conservative media company opposed to the deal. An agreement between the two companies would violate a rule from the Federal Communications Commission limiting how many television stations a single company can operate. Still, Trump cast it as critical for fighting his opponents in the national news arena. “We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks,” he wrote on Truth Social. “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.” But Newsmax, whose CEO Chris Ruddy has long stood against lifting the FCC cap, is signaling its strong opposition to the idea. “The Nexstar deal means dangerous consolidation that will limit competition, harm conservative voices and dramatically increase consumer cable bills,” the company said in a statement Saturday. “We hope the president will reconsider his position.” He and other conservatives argued prior to Trump’s post that jettisoning the rule would stymie competition in media and hurt independent cable companies like Newsmax. “It’s not going to work,” Ruddy told POLITICO in November. “The president doesn’t want this, and so I have no doubt that he will not support the FCC going to extraordinary but potentially illegal lengths.” Ruddy isn’t the only conservative media head who expressed opposition to the deal last year. Charles Herring, the president of One America News Network, a pro-Trump television channel, also signaled his dissent. “Only competition (not consolidation) serves Americans,” he wrote in a post on X last September. “Keep markets open & free. Competition serves the consumer and our democracy.” OAN did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the stand Trump took Saturday. The president seemingly alluded to the opposition the deal is facing — and suggested that it would, in fact, benefit its critics, without elaborating why. “Those that are opposed don’t fully understand how good the concept of this Deal is for them, but they will in the future,” he wrote. “GET THAT DEAL DONE!” Approval from the Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission — the heads of which were appointed to their positions by Trump — is critical for the merger. The FCC and DOJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment on their plans following Trump’s post. Perhaps in an effort to curry favor, Nexstar has aligned itself with the administration in the recent past. It joined Sinclair, another conservative broadcasting group, in briefly blocking comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show from airing on its affiliates after White House officials criticized his comments on the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. (Both networks resumed airing the program after discussions with ABC and Disney.) Tegna and Nexstar also did not respond to requests for comment. Trump strains conservative media alliances in push for Nexstar-Tegna merger
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