On Monday, all major TV networks—including the normally Trump-friendly Fox News, as well as ABC, CBS, CNN, and NBC—pulled their press pool reporters in protest of Trump’s decision to ban CNN, MS Now, and Politico reporters from the White House.
This is obviously a big problem for a White House obsessed with publicity. (For example, a press conference called by Trump on Monday was inaudible because the pool mics were absent, and C-SPAN similarly relies on pool cameras in many situations.) But don’t worry, the administration has a plan for red-blooded Americans eager to consume 18 daily hours of Trump-themed content: Trump TV.
After teasing it in posts earlier in the day, the White House updated its live feed page to show Trump TV, which it branded as an “essentials station,” complete with a slop trailer featuring nostalgic clips of famous TV and movie characters eagerly anticipating what’s about to come on screen. What does come on screen is a very boring clip of Trump lethargically introducing himself to the audience at an event near Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota in July.
It’s pretty hard to put a spin on this one—it’s pathetic, and obviously not going to fulfill any of the functions the White House relies on the pool for (such as broadcasting events the president attends overseas, or constant verification that they’re still alive at any given time). Is this good trolling? Do the libs feel owned? Right-wing NYC rag the New York Post was willing to debase itself as such, pretending in a headline that Trump had struck back with a “dramatic move of his own.” Good for them.
When Gizmodo clicked on the feed, it was showing a clip of Trump and Vice President JD Vance looking very bored and glaring around while members of a U.S. Naval Academy choir sung “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah” at Trump’s second inauguration—scintillating stuff.
All three networks that Trump banned (CNN, MS Now, and Politico) are suing in federal court to have their access restored.
Trump’s approval rating has dipped to a record low 32% in a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, and some Republican members of Congress have belatedly distanced themselves from the administration ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. Clearly, the reason for this slide in the polls is that the public is not yet familiar enough with Trump and needs a 24/7 feed of him just kind of standing around and/or doing word salad to better appreciate his leadership.
Anyhow, we’d guess the Polymarket odds of Trump responding to this snub to his daily visibility by bombarding the nation’s phones with “Presidential Alerts” just went up.
“He’s got to be furious there’s no video with good audio from a consequential day,” former White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin told the Times.
