“Gunny” Bob hosted, touted Tancredo as candidate but omitted his own fundraising ties

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

For the second time in less than three months, Newsradio 850 KOA host “Gunny” Bob Newman provided Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo (CO) an on-air forum for his presidential campaign, praising him on August 23 as the “candidate on the right side of the ticket” while Tancredo appeared as a guest on his show. But Newman again failed to tell listeners that he reportedly has helped raise money for Tancredo's bid.

Introducing him as the “presidential candidate on the right side of the ticket” on his August 23 Newsradio 850 KOA show, “Gunny” Bob Newman once again promoted U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo's (R-CO) presidential campaign without disclosing that he reportedly has helped raise funds for it.

As Colorado Media Matters pointed out, the Rocky Mountain News reported February 8 on its website that “Tancredo's talk radio buddies are about to give his White House ambitions an off-the-air boost.” The article stated that Newman and 630 KHOW-AM host Peter Boyles were slated to “share the emcee duties at a Feb. 25 fundraiser for Tancredo's newly-formed presidential exploratory committee, Tancredo for a Secure America.”

At the time, Colorado Media Matters asked if Clear Channel Communications, the parent company of KOA and KHOW, would allow Newman and Boyles to give Tancredo an on-the-air “boost” and essentially promote his potential campaign by letting them discuss the candidate, his cornerstone issue of immigration control, and his other conservative campaign themes on their shows.

Additionally, Colorado Media Matters has noted that Newman touted Tancredo's campaign on his June 11 broadcast, asking, "[W]here do folks go to learn more about your campaign for the presidency?" After Tancredo provided the address for his campaign website, Newman urged his listeners, “Everyone go to TeamTancredo.org.”

Without disclosing his reported fundraising for the candidate, Newman once again hosted Tancredo, this time on August 23 for a discussion about two Colorado state legislators' proposal “to open employment offices in Mexico.”

From the August 23 broadcast of Newsradio 850 KOA's The Gunny Bob Show:

NEWMAN: In just a moment we're going to have Congressman Tom Tancredo on. He's a huge Rockies fan, and I'm going to be at the game this, this Saturday evening. So looking forward to that, but we got some stuff we have to talk about tonight. There are two Colorado politicians, one a state representative, one a state senator, their names are Abel Tapia and Marsha Looper -- Democrat and Republican, respectively -- and they want the state of Colorado to open employment offices in Mexico. Know what I did not say? New Mexico. I said Mexico, as in the country. The sovereign state, more or less, the nation. And that has got everybody talking, because these two politicians say, hey, you know what? We don't have enough workers on the farms, on the ranches, in the oil fields, in the service industry, in construction, and we have got to go to Mexico to get these, to get these workers. Well, just about every Coloradan wants to weigh in on that, at 303-713-8585. And joining us, once again, Congressman Tom Tancredo from Colorado -- presidential candidate on the right side of the ticket. Congressman, welcome back.

TANCREDO: Thank you. Thank you, my friend; it's good to be with you.

NEWMAN: So, when they have the ribbon-cutting ceremony in Juarez, congressman, are you going to be down there with that giant pair of plastic scissors?

TANCREDO: Right. You bet. And I hope -- they're, they're probably going to put it right next door to the Social Security office --

[Newman laughs]

TANCREDO: -- which by the way, is opening.

NEWMAN: What?

TANCREDO: Yes. There is, the, the, the Social Security, the Social Security Administration is planning on -- and if it hasn't already done it, I'm not sure, but I know there were plans in the works to open up a branch office in Mexico.

NEWMAN: You're -- are you are you messing with me?

TANCREDO: No, I'm not messing with you, buddy; I'm telling you the truth. It was --

NEWMAN: Oh!

TANCREDO: -- on the table. I, I can't say that it is open, that, that I'm not sure of, but I know that there were plans to, to do that.

NEWMAN [laughs]: Congressman, can we just get beamed up? Because there's -- there isn't that much life left on this planet.

Similarly, on the March 30 broadcast of KBDI Channel 12's Colorado Inside Out, host Boyles praised Tancredo's campaign, saying that the candidate “says the right things” and has a “tremendous chance” to “affect a plank in the platform” of the Republican Party. But Boyles also failed to disclose to viewers that he reportedly has helped raise money for Tancredo.