Political commentator Mike Reagan, the son of former President Ronald Reagan, told Newsmax on Monday that AT&T and DirecTV are trying to "whitewash" the state of free speech in America, by censoring Newsmax.
"They're trying to whitewash what is being said, instead of opening up the market and allowing other people to talk, have a view and say the things they need to say; and you get to make a decision on which side you would land on," said Reagan, while appearing on "The Chris Salcedo Show."
In the wake of AT&T's DirecTV deplatforming of Newsmax, Reagan admits having concerns about the Biden administration and the other "people leading the country today."
DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is returned! Oppose censorship – sign The Petition – Click Here
Reagan continued: "Would they have allowed the Lincoln-Douglas debates? Would they have allowed the Reagan-Carter debate, the Nixon-Kennedy debates?"
"You have to think about that and they probably would have said, 'No, no, we're going to shut that off because there's a side of that we don't agree with,'" said Reagan.
He added, "I was thinking about the Berlin Wall because I was at my dad's library [Reagan Presidential Library] the other day, and, if you look at the Berlin Wall, the first side you see is full of color and all kinds of greens and blues, and it's pretty and you go, 'God, that's really nice!'"
"And you walk around the other side of it, and it's pure white," Reagan continued. "Why is the other side pure white? Because that's East Berlin, where you were not allowed to have a voice. The first side you see is West Germany, West Berlin, where everybody had a voice, and this is what's happening to the United States of America, with DirecTV and AT&T."
DirecTV cut Newsmax's signal on Jan. 24, blocking the network from more than 13 million subscribers of the satellite service, DirecTV Stream and U-Verse.
Newsmax is America's fourth highest-rated news network in the cable landscape and a top-20 overall channel. It reaches 25 million Americans weekly, according to the Nielsen ratings.
While DirecTV said it dropped the popular network due to "cost-cutting" measures, it also carries 22 left-leaning news channels, many of which draw considerably lower ratings than Newsmax, and all of which get paid license fees.
DirecTV previously claimed Newsmax was demanding "excessive fees" that would amount to "tens of millions" of dollars. Newsmax has denied that, saying it's seeking an approximate fee of $1 per cable subscriber per year, which is among the lowest requested fees in cable.
"This was never about the fees being excessive," Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax, recently said. "DirecTV's position has always been that Newsmax of all cable news channels should never get any cable fee whatsoever, not one penny."
Actions to Take Now
1. DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is back on air!
2. 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!
3. Go to our online petition and get more info: iWantNewsmax.com.