Trump TV is the only source of footage of the President. That may be exactly what he wants.
In the same week, the President banned three networks from the White House - and started his own. It's not a coincidence that this happened so close to the midterms.
Link: Trump TV Draws Ire Amid White House Press Shutout: 'State-Run Media', by Casey Loving in The Wrap
It’s not an accident that Trump’s move to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House and, the same week, start his own friendly streaming channel happened just before the midterm elections. As The Wrap reported:
“The White House posted [a] message on X on Monday to announce Trump TV, a 24/7 livestream of ‘top past moments, announcements and the latest and greatest from the administration all in one place.’ While the Trump administration and members of the political right are calling this feed a win, others have different words for it: ‘state-run media.’”
It’s more than that: calling it “state-run media” would be pulling our punches. It’s a fully fledged propaganda network. If it had been established with press access to the White House fully functioning, it would have floundered as yet another half-assed also-ran attempt by the Presidency; without a fully functioning press pool, newsrooms are likely to turn to it to inform their coverage.
And the press pool is in trouble. Fox, ABC, CBS, and NBC subsequently pulled out of pooled TV coverage of White House events in solidarity. This is good to see, but in some ways it may also be what Trump wants: his channel then becomes the main source of footage from the President’s own events. In a normal world where the norms of American democracy were seen as worth preserving, the White House would back down. In a world where the country is being deliberately dragged into authoritarianism, it may not.
A First Amendment lawsuit seeks to reinstate the banned newsrooms’ access. Hopefully, it will succeed. In the meantime, Trump may still get eyes on a content channel his administration wholly owns, which broadcasts the Trump message without context or scrutiny, as he aims to take the country down a road it may not be able to easily return from.
