Newsmax holiday party attendees must be vaccinated despite right-wing network railing against mandates

Newsmax staffers attending the right-wing network’s Christmas party in New York have to be vaccinated despite the channel’s hosts railing against vaccine mandates on the air.

The channel admitted on Wednesday that proof of vaccination will be required to join the festivities in New York, and that simply having a negative test won’t be enough, The Daily Beast reported.

On Tuesday night, conservatives on Twitter shared an internal memo from Newsmax, which reminded prospective attendees about the party the following night. The location of the party had been redacted from the memo.

The notice said that anyone who wished to enter the premises would have to “show a vaccination card, or photo image of one” on their phone.

A spokesperson for Newsmax told The Daily Beast that the vaccination rules only applied to the network’s office in New York City because of the city and state’s vaccine mandates.

“Newsmax has had several holiday parties at different locations and the company has no requirement for vaccination to attend any of these,” the network said in a written statement. “New York City, however, mandated a vaccination card for entry to restaurants and public venues.”

“Newsmax has no company mandate for vaccinations, though we encourage our staff to get vaccinated,” they added.

The party was held in the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel in New York, according to The Daily Beast. The hotel requires all guests over the age of 12 to show proof of vaccination.

Newsmax has been criticised by some right-wingers for its vaccine policy, which hews closely to that of the Biden administration’s rules for large private employers. Network staff have also slammed the vaccine policy at the channel.

The network has tried to assert that it doesn’t have any rules on vaccinations, but staffers will have to submit their vaccination card before 4 January or undergo weekly testing for Covid-19.

Newsmax’s inner workings go against their public programming, in which their hosts frequently blast vaccine mandates.

But the network, which is fiercely supportive of former President Donald Trump, recently split with former Trump advisor Steve Cortes. His public stance against the vaccine rules at the channel was reportedly part of why he was forced to leave his primetime hosting position.

On 5 November, Mr Cortes tweeted: “I will not comply [with] any organization’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.”

Former Newsmax White House correspondent Emerald Robinson was taken off the air after she on numerous occasions pushed the conspiracy theory that the vaccines contained “bioluminescent”, satanic tracking tools.

Ms Robinson has been off-air since early November and the network said earlier this week that she won’t return.