President Donald Trump has banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House coverage, and the three outlets are suing him, alleging it abridges their First Amendment rights. In response to Trump’s ban of the news outlets, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News and Fox News — which along with CNN provide the White House TV pool coverage — announced Monday they were suspending pool coverage of the president at events because of his ban on the news outlets.
On Monday at 7 p.m. ET, the White House — possibly in response to the TV pool blackout — launched Trump TV, a 24-hour livestream populated with reruns of Trump speeches combined with live coverage of other events featuring administration officials. The first video streamed on the Trump TV station was Trump’s July 3, 2026, speech at Mount Rushmore, in which he dubbed his political rivals “godless” and “evil” communists.
“Watch the Trump Administration’s biggest moments all in one place,” the White House says in the description on YouTube for “TRUMP TV: The Essentials Station.” “Top videos, major remarks, and must-see highlights streaming 24/7 and updated in real time. Stay informed and stay up to date!”
What’s the purpose of Trump TV? “The press, in some cases, reported inaccurately or not at all on the Administration’s many record breaking accomplishments on behalf of all Americans,” according to White House head of digital strategy Kaelan Dorr, writing in a post on X. “Trump TV is a 24/7 livestream of the Administration’s greatest hits, unfiltered.”
The launch of Trump TV was quickly derided by critics as “state-run” television, akin to government-controlled outlets in other countries. Among those blasting the move was California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a frequent Trump critic.
“First, Trump banned independent news from the White House. Now, he’s launching what is quite literally state-run TV to try drowning out the fact that he and his corrupt administration are failing the American people,” Newsom wrote on X. “This is truly autocratic behavior from a failed President.”
Ed Krassenstein, a prominent progressive social-media personality, commented on the White House’s post about Trump TV: “State-run TV like Russia. Fascism is awesome!”
Prior to the Trump TV launch, Weijia Jiang, CBS News’ senior White House correspondent (and former White House Correspondents’ Association president), opined on “Fox News Sunday” that the U.S. “cannot have” state-run TV in discussing Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
“America cannot have state TV,” Jiang said. “That’s what makes America America… because you need independent actors to be able to be the observers. And if the government is only showing you what it wants, then you have to question: What are we missing?”
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