Welcome to Hard Talk from the BBC World Service with me, Stephen Sacker.

My guest in this interview recorded on the 7th of August is a major figure in America's

conservative media and a longtime friend of Donald Trump.

And that combination means Chris Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax media, wields considerable power and influence on the American right.

While Newsmax doesn't yet consistently match the audience figures of Fox News,

it is rapidly becoming a favorite TV and online source for Trump's core vote,

and its success symbolizes the fragmentation of the US news media landscape, which this election season will see more and more Americans move away

from the so-called legacy media and get most of their information from partisan channels and

social media platforms.

How is that changing America's political culture?

And is 78-year-old Donald Trump, now facing a much younger rival in Kamala Harris,

at risk of looking out of touch?

At the very least, he seems to have been wrong-footed by the re-framing of the

race for the White House. Visibly aging Joe Biden was an easy target. An energetic and confident

Carmelah Harris is a different proposition. And already, the polls have tightened significantly.

Add to that, the generally negative

early reaction to Trump's pick for Vice President, J.D. Vance, and the evident Democrat enthusiasm for

Harris's running mate, Tim Walls. And this election seems to be acquiring a new narrative.

So how will conservative influences respond?

Well, Chris Ruddy joins me now from Florida. Welcome to Hard Talk.

Stephen, good to be back with you. It's great to talk to you. Now, you know Donald Trump well.

You talk to him pretty regularly. Do you believe that he has been rattled by the transformation

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