MAGA Media Partying It Up for Trump’s White House Return
MAGA-loving media organizations are gearing up to celebrate Donald Trump’s return to Washington with a spectacular party weekend ahead of his swearing-in on Monday.
Newsmax and The Daily Caller have both sent out invites for pre-inauguration parties ahead of Monday’s Inauguration Day, according to copies of the invites obtained by the Daily Beast. Newsmax, the conservative cable network founded by longtime Trump ally (and golfing buddy) Christopher Ruddy, is hosting an “Inaugural Eve Celebration” on Sunday, where it expects at least 1,500 politicians and media figures to attend, a spokesperson said.
Its party will be held at the Mellon Auditorium, which housed much of the 2020 Republican National Convention.
“Newsmax is hosting a celebration of the inauguration of our next president and has invited Americans of all political parties and walks of life to join with us,” a Newsmax spokesperson said in a statement. “The event in no way signifies an endorsement of a candidate or political party.”
The Daily Caller’s late-night “Freedom of the Press” event, scheduled for Saturday at Washington, D.C.‘s Café Milano, promises cocktails, VIP guests, and a cigar lounge.
It wouldn’t be the first time the outlet, founded in 2010 by Tucker Carlson and former Dick Cheney adviser Neil Patel, has hosted an inaugural bash—it hosted a “Welcome to Washington” event in January 2017 days before Trump’s first inauguration—but it has found an unconventional co-host for this year’s event: DCI Group, a D.C.-based lobbyist group reportedly under investigation by the FBI.
Reuters reported in November that DCI Group allegedly compiled a list of environmental activists critical of Exxon Mobil and provided it to an Israeli private detective, who outsourced the hacking operation. Exxon Mobil was one of DCI Group’s largest clients until 2020, according to Reuters.
Patel, the Daily Caller’s publisher, said in a statement he was unaware of the report and investigation, but he characterized the upcoming Saturday shindig as “an absolute banger” that “anyone who’s anyone in conservative America is gonna be there for.”
DCI Group called the Reuters report “false and unsubstantiated” and said it was “focused on the future of our company, the success of our clients, and of course our party this weekend to celebrate democracy, freedom of the press, and our new President.”
This Sunday at Trump International Golf w. @realdonaldtrump and @fredfleitz. President in great mood, looking forward to G20 this week! pic.twitter.com/kB3Y8FjIkJ
— Christopher Ruddy (@ChrisRuddyNMX) November 25, 2018
While news organizations will often host large-scale events in D.C., such as those proliferating the capital the weekend of the White House Correspondents Association’s dinner, it is uncommon for them to host ones celebrating a presidential inauguration due to concerns over political bias. The Society for Professional Journalists' code of ethics dictates news organizations should “avoid conflicts of interests” and “avoid political and other outside activities that may compromise integrity or impartiality.”
The events come as hordes of industries—and their dollars—pour into the nation’s capital to tip their hat to Trump as he returns to office. While some are more obvious candidates—that is, conservative news outlets—others who’ve previously abstained from inaugural activities have dived headfirst into the weekend.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is co-hosting an inauguration ball on Monday with Trump donors Miriam Adelson, Todd Ricketts, and Tilman Fertitta, Trump’s nominee as ambassador to Italy. Zuckerberg and fellow tech billionaires Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, and Tim Cook have also donated $1 million each to Trump’s inauguration fund.
The parties aren’t limited to predominantly MAGA outlets. Bari Weiss' The Free Press will also be co-hosting a pre-inaugural bash with Uber and Elon Musk’s X on Sunday at D.C.‘s Café Riggs. The party will feature a performance by country singer Dierks Bentley.