Trump TV: Can the US president bypass mainstream media?

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkUS President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner in the Rose Garden of the White House [File: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images via AFP]By Nils AdlerPublished On 22 Sep 202622 Sep 2026United States President Donald Trump launched a round-the-clock YouTube channel run by the White House on Monday.The move follows his banning of CNN, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), and Politico from reporting from the White House on Friday, prompting five major television networks to suspend coverage on Monday morning in protest.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US proposes AI safety notification mechanism in talks with Chinalist 2 of 4Iran’s military says US preparing to resume strikeslist 3 of 4CNN, Politico, MS NOW sue Trump administration over White House banlist 4 of 4Trump-GCC Summit in New York: What does each side want?end of listThe spat has triggered a wave of lawsuits from broadcasters, with the president warning on Saturday that he might ban other outlets for broadcasting what he claims is “fake news”.Alongside his own social media platform, Truth Social, Trump appears to be trying to bypass mainstream media. But is this possible, and has anyone tried it before? What is Trump TV?‘Trump TV: The Essentials Station’ is not a conventional television network but a 24-hour online video stream.There are no anchors, no reporters and no original journalism. Instead, it broadcasts speeches, administration announcements, ceremonial events and selected highlights from Trump’s presidency.How did Trump’s latest feud with mainstream media begin?On Friday, Trump said he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, prompting a flurry of condemnation from several major media outlets and media rights watchdogs.On Truth Social, he accused the outlets of propagating “fake news”. He added that the outlets “constantly write or report fiction or lies” about the Trump administration, but did not give any examples.On Monday, the banned outlets sued the Trump administration for denying them their First Amendment rights.Trump responded to the suit in a statement posted on Truth Social, lashing out at what he called the “fake news people”, and saying that “the Oval Office … should be treated with Decorum, Respect, and Dignity, not defiled by Third Rate Clowns”.“No matter how GREAT my Achievements, they trivialise and demean,” the president added.The television news pool then announced it was suspending its coverage of the president’s events.The White House broadcasting pool is made up of five networks – ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC. They take turns filming the president, providing live feeds that are picked up by the networks and outlets around the world.When the White House blocked CNN from the rotation on Monday, the other four refused to replace the network.The result was an awkward broadcast in which a White House ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Trump, surrounded by workers in hard hats and safety vests, was broadcast by US news outlet Newsmax with only live visuals and no audio because no television press pool was present.Other news outlets also showed solidarity with the press pool. The Associated Press (AP) joined several news organisations, including The Washington Post and The New York Times, in deciding not to publish photographs taken by the White House photography pool of presidential events on Monday.The same day, Trump launched his own channel. How has Trump tried to bypass mainstream media in the past?Trump has long tried to bypass mainstream media by communicating directly, often in capital letters alongside AI-generated depictions of himself, on his own social media platform, Truth Social.Last year, he also sought to bar AP reporters from the White House Oval Office, Air Force One and other events in retaliation for the news outlet’s decision not to follow his lead in changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico – which lies partially in Mexican and other waters – to the Gulf of America. AP has taken legal action against this.Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump has pursued other legal actions against a variety of different outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC.His administration is also involved in a long-simmering confrontation with ABC over renewal of its broadcast licences.Trump has also lashed out at individual reporters in person or over social media.Some outlets that he favours, such as Fox News and Newsmax, often carry his events in full, while podcasters and online streamers considered friendly to him often give him long, unedited interviews. Have other leaders launched their own media channels?Yes. One of the best-known examples is Venezuela’s former president Hugo Chavez.From 1999 to 2012, he hosted Hello, President, a Sunday television and radio show that often ran for several hours per episode.Chavez sang, took calls from viewers, attacked his opponents and sometimes announced major policy live on air.He also made heavy use of cadenas, or broadcasts that all Venezuelan channels were legally required to carry at the same time.Chavez’s successor, Nicolas Maduro, who US forces abducted and imprisoned on guns-and-drugs charges in January during a Trump-authorised lightning military raid on Caracas, kept the same model during his presidency.He hosted his own weekly programme on state television, most recently called Con Maduro+, continued using cadenas, and became an active user of TikTok and other social media.India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also followed a similar strategy.Since 2014, he has hosted Words from the Heart, a monthly radio address via state broadcaster All India Radio, in which he talks directly to citizens without interviewers or questions.He also has his own official NaMo app, through which he sends messages direct to the general public, rarely accepting questions directly from the press.Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro used Facebook Live during his 2019 to 2023 presidency, holding live weekly broadcasts, usually on Thursday evenings and often filmed in a casual setting at his official residence.He used the broadcasts to make announcements, attack journalists and criticise Globo, Brazil’s largest media group.El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele often announces major decisions on X rather than through press conferences.In 2020, amid a dispute with independent outlets, he launched a government news programme on the state channel Canal 10 which broadcasts three times a day. His government also runs a daily newspaper dedicated to official messaging.