Donald Trump’s former campaign adviser Steve Cortes is reportedly leaving right-wing channel Newsmax after the company mandated Covid-19 vaccines for all its employees.
The news of the former Trump adviser leaving the channel has come just months after Newsmax announced in May that it was roping in Mr Cortes for hosting a primetime show.
Five sources familiar with the matter told the Daily Beast that Mr Cortes was parting ways as a Newsmax host after he refused to get vaccinated, according to a report published by the outlet on Friday.
Mr Cortes will be hosting his last primetime broadcast for Newsmax early next week, they revealed.
Mr Cortes had tweeted earlier this month that he would not get vaccinated and said he would not comply with any organisation’s “attempt to enforce Biden’s capricious and unscientific Medical Apartheid mandate.”
“I will not be forced into the injection, nor will I disclose my vaccination status. No one should be pressured to choose between medical privacy and their job” he said.
Newsmax has not formally commented on the matter.
The right-wing channel had earlier said all its employees must either be vaccinated or submit to weekly Covid testing.
One source told the Daily Beast that Mr Cortes was a “constant risk” because of his knack for making controversial statements. The tussle between him and the network has “been ongoing for a while,” according to the source.
Another insider said the ratings for Mr Cortes’s show “suck” and that the media company was looking for a change. “He still insists the election was stolen,” the source said.
At least three sources confirmed to Daily Beast that Mr Cortes’ rhetoric on the right-wing channel was “too far” even for the channel executives.
Mr Cortes was an advisor and spokesperson for the 2020 Trump campaign. He has also been a political commentator.
The company has been embroiled in lawsuits by tech companies Dominion and Smartmatic, that deal with voting technologies. The companies had slapped lawsuits against Newsmax for “knowingly and continuously” selling a “false story of election fraud.”
Newsmax had also pulled its White House correspondent Emerald Robinson off air for saying that the Covid vaccines contained Satanic bioluminescent tracking devices. She has also been permanently banned from Twitter for spreading misinformation on Covid.
