The White House has launched its own round-the-clock video channel, dubbed “Trump TV: The Essentials Station,” just days after President Donald Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. The new service launched Monday evening at 7 p.m. ET, according to the White House, which has promoted it as a way to watch the Trump administration's “biggest moments all in one place.” It's first piece of streamed footage is a two-month-old speech that Trump made at Mount Rushmore, on July 3 this year.
The launch comes as Trump's escalating dispute with the news media has disrupted the traditional television pool that provides shared video coverage of the president's movements. On Monday, CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a federal lawsuit against the White House challenging their exclusion, arguing that the administration violated their First Amendment rights by removing their access because of their reporting. Hours later, the television pool announced that it would suspend coverage of presidential events rather than replace CNN for its scheduled pool assignments.
The pool normally rotates coverage among ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC, with the footage distributed to other news organizations. The White House describes the new service as “Trump TV: The Essentials Station.” Its livestream page says it will provide administration videos, major presidential remarks and other highlights, with content streamed and updated in real time. The White House had teased the launch on social media throughout Monday, including videos hinting that something new was coming.
The service is part of a broader effort by the administration to communicate directly with the public through its own platforms, bypassing traditional news organizations. The launch coincides with an extraordinary breakdown in the White House's relationship with the television press pool. Trump announced Friday that CNN, MS NOW and Politico were being barred from the White House, citing what he called unfavorable and “fake” coverage.
Reporters from the three organizations were subsequently denied access to the White House grounds. The dispute escalated Monday when CNN was scheduled to provide the television pool coverage for Trump's trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. Rather than replace CNN, the remaining networks announced that they would suspend pool coverage of presidential events.
That meant there was no traditional network television pool camera covering Trump's departure for New York. In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump defended his decision, calling "Fake News" a "threat to democracy" and vowing to go to appeal. "Fake News people and publications that only write negatively, and who violate our National Security by writing false and defamatory stories with unknown 'sources,' shouldn’t be allowed access to the most important Office anywhere in the World," he wrote.
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