The conservative news website Newsmax published a column that suggested U.S. President Donald Trump should 'retire immediately,' letting Vice President Mike Pence handle the transition to the incoming Biden-Harris administration.
Voting in the 2020 U.S. Election may be over, but the misinformation keeps on ticking. Never stop fact-checking. Follow our post-election coverage here. On Nov. 11, 2020, the conservative news and opinion website Newsmax published a story with the headline 'Let Mike Pence Handle the Transition.' The article came four days after The Associated Press projected that Democrat Joe Biden had won the election, putting him in line to become the 46th president of the United States. The Newsmax piece said that U.S. President Donald Trump should 'retire immediately,' letting Pence handle the duties to transfer power to the incoming Biden-Harris administration: To avoid all this unpleasantness, President Trump should retire immediately and let Mike Pence concede the election, occupy the White House, and handle the transition. COVID-19 remains a terrible problem. Pence has generally been credited with doing a decent job - within limits imposed by Trump - of chairing efforts to cope with this problem. He could continue doing so as president. He and his wife Karen could host the Bidens cordially on inauguration day and participate gracefully when Joe Biden is sworn in. A few months in, the White House could give Pence a head start on securing the Republican nomination in 2024. Giving him this opportunity would be a gracious reward for his undivided loyalty to Trump during the last three and a half years. It's true that this story came from the conservative website Newsmax. Twitter users were surprised by it, to say the least: File under: Wait, WHAT? From: NewsMax (via The Righting) 'President Trump should retire immediately and let Mike Pence concede the election, occupy the White House, and handle the transition...This would give Pence a head start on securing the Republican nomination in 2024. - JOEVoteRaPUNzel🇺🇸 (@RandilynIsIn) November 11, 2020 Right wing Newsmax, which is owned by Trump's friend Chris Ruddy, suggesting he retire: 'To avoid all this unpleasantness President Trump should retire immediately and let Mike Pence concede the election, occupy the White House and handle the transition'https://t.co/tDD3FX66oI - Tom Joseph (@TomJChicago) November 12, 2020 @newsmax you were my favorite media outlet until this! 'To avoid all this unpleasantness, President Trump should retire immediately and let Mike Pence concede the election, occupy the White House, and handle the transition.' - President-Elect Constitutional Warriors (@motormouth3) November 11, 2020 Right wing Newsmax, which is owned by Trump's friend Chris Ruddy, suggesting he retire: 'To avoid all this unpleasantness President Trump should retire immediately and let Mike Pence concede the election, occupy the White House and handle the transition'https://t.co/ono78ROOhZ - Brad (@Brad714OC) November 13, 2020 WTF, 'President Trump should retire immediately'？！？ Mr Editor: Have you lost your mind??? - CL (@CL09871234) November 11, 2020 However, the story was an opinion column from journalist Paul F. deLespinasse. It did not represent the company's staunchly pro-Trump views following the election. Newsmax deleted the tweet promoting the story after it was posted, perhaps after receiving backlash. The tweet read: 'OPINION: Let @VP handle the transition with @JoeBiden.' @newsmax just deleted their tweet undermining Trump...but someone saved a screen shot. @POTUS @VP @GOP @GOPLeader @GOPChairwoman @realDonaldTrump @cjtruth @JuliansRum pic.twitter.com/rQ4czVsVI5 - 🔥MoltenFirewall🔥 (@MoltenFire17) November 11, 2020 It does not appear that the @Newsmax Twitter account tweeted the story again. The company had seen a surge in viewership following the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and even tweeted about Fox News' audience switching, perhaps temporarily or permanently, depending on each viewer, from the cable news giant to Newsmax: Chris Salcedo examines the 'disloyalty' Fox News has shown to their faithful followers and why Newsmax TV welcomes them with open arms. https://t.co/VlT7z8v2lm pic.twitter.com/pXjhZ7QCoL - Newsmax (@newsmax) November 14, 2020 The New York Times reported that Newsmax is courting Fox News viewers with 'election denialism.' Newsmax refused to call the election in Mr. Biden's favor. Newsmax does not have a decision desk, so its refusal mostly amounted to a symbolic protest. Still, it buoyed Trump supporters who were defiant about the president's loss, and led Mr. Trump and his allies to embrace the outlet as a friendly venue. Since then, Newsmax TV has promoted a parade of conspiracy theories and false allegations of voter fraud, and has pointedly refused to refer to Mr. Biden as the president-elect. The alternate-reality strategy is working, and turning Newsmax into a legitimate contender for conservative eyeballs in the post-Trump era. Newsmax TV is getting its highest ratings this week, with as many as 800,000 people tuning in to its prime-time shows, according to Nielsen. (Before the election, it was averaging just 65,000 viewers at any given time, according to CNN's Brian Stelter.) Mr. Trump has been furiously sharing Newsmax clips and retweeting supporters who say they are turning to the network out of frustration with Fox News. The Associated Press also reported that the Newsmax mobile app racked up 583,000 new installs in the U.S. from Nov. 3 to Nov. 9, 'up more than 11 times from the previous week.' Trump's relationship with Fox News has been a rollercoaster of offering exclusive interviews to the cable news channel while at the same time tweeting out messages that show his displeasure with them. These tweets have sometimes promoted alternative TV networks, including Newsmax, One America News Network, and other organizations: .@FoxNews weekend afternoons is the worst! Getting into @CNN and MSDNC territory. Watch @OANN & @newsmax instead. Much better! - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 5, 2020 After Election Day, Trump continued to tweet his thoughts on Fox News: .@FoxNews daytime ratings have completely collapsed. Weekend daytime even WORSE. Very sad to watch this happen, but they forgot what made them successful, what got them there. They forgot the Golden Goose. The biggest difference between the 2016 Election, and 2020, was @FoxNews! - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 
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