The White House debuted Trump TV Monday following a contentious media ban for three news outlets covering 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Trump TV’s inaugural broadcast featured President Trump’s speech delivered at Mount Rushmore, followed by footage of the 2025 presidential inauguration.
The platform is designed to stream “top videos, major remarks, and must-see highlights” 24/7 in real time, according to the White House YouTube channel.
The streaming program comes just days after a highly publicized dispute with CNN, Politico and MS NOW, in which the organizations were barred from the White House.
In response to the bans, four other major broadcast news organizations, operating as the White House TV press pool, boycotted pool duties and skipped coverage of the president’s scheduled events on Monday.
The affected media outlets have filed a lawsuit seeking to restore their access to the White House.
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Mr. Trump’s reasoning for their ban: fake news.
“Virtually every story about me, or anything having to do with me, is negative, wrong and, in many cases, DANGEROUS for our Country!” he posted to Truth Social Monday.
While he contends that their coverage intentionally reports “fake news,” the outlets disputed the idea in their Monday lawsuit, arguing that the president issued the prohibition because “he dislikes the content of their coverage.”
The president has had his share of gripes against major media organizations, much of which includes multibillion-dollar defamation lawsuits — or the threat of legal action — against outlets.
More recently, Mr. Trump’s July prime-time address on election security was not broadcast on CNN’s primary platforms and two of the three major U.S. television networks, ABC and NBC.
The outlets treated the decision to forgo coverage as an editorial choice regarding live, uninterrupted coverage, but Mr. Trump claimed the omission was a “plot” and suggested networks should lose their licenses.
The president’s newest streaming service is also not the first time he has announced a direct line from his posts to the public.
Truth Social was primarily created to regain a direct communication channel after being banned from major social media platforms like Twitter, now known as X, and Facebook following the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack.
The platform allows him to share announcements, rally supporters and bypass traditional media filters on his own terms.
Through the Trump Media & Technology Group, the platform also developed as a commercial enterprise designed to generate revenue and engage investors by selling early access to his and others’ posts at up to $100,000 per month.
The White House also launched a mobile app in March, giving the West Wing a means to cut through what it calls “the noise with unfiltered, real-time updates straight from the source.”
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