Report: Talker Michael Medved Pays For 'Never Trump' Stance

Michael Medved

Salem Media, home of some of the nation’s most conservative talk show hosts, quietly changed the time slot of one of its hosts in a major market and didn’t include him on a national tour — all in the wake of his anti-Donald Trump stance, reports Politico.

Michael Medved is the only major nationally syndicated host of Salem Media — a fast-growing player in conservative, Christian radio and online media — who is vehemently anti-Donald Trump.

Medved has blasted Trump as "insecure, unprepared and angrily unhinged.

He’s defended Hillary Clinton when callers call her “the most corrupt candidate in history.”
He’s said “I think Democrats are deluded. I think they’re wrong. But I don’t think they’re evil."

As a result of his unwillingness to even be even a reluctant Trump supporter, he’s angered his syndiator, many local affiliates, and many of Salem’s listeners.

“There’s no question it would have helped my career to even be reluctantly on the Trump train,”

Medved said, noting that the people who have done well are the Trump supporters. "But the problem is I can’t pretend. I really do see this as not just a job, it’s a vocation."

Medved, 68, has had his own conservative-leaning show on Salem Media since 1996. And while he’s been a steadfast conservative, he’s long been a “squeaky wheel” compared to some other conservative radio hosts today — he was always in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, blasted those who supported the “birther” movement, and hosts a regular segment shunning conspiracy theories.

Over the course of several interviews, Medved said there was no direct pressure or threats from Salem executives to be pro-Trump and that he thinks Salem is a “wonderful” company. But he did acknowledge his stance has created tension with his employer.

Shortly after the Republican conventions, Medved’s show — which normally airs live in the afternoon hours around — was moved to the unenviable slot of 12 a.m. to 3 a.m. on KSKY 660 AM The Answer, the Salem affiliate in the prime Dallas market. Host Larry Elder took his slot.

Medved wouldn’t comment on why the time changed, only to acknowledge that it did. Phil Boyce, Salem’s Senior Vice President of spoken word format said in an email that it was simply a business decision.

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