The White House has launched a 24/7 online stream dubbed ‘TRUMP TV: The Essentials Station’ after major US networks suspended their presidential pool coverage over President Donald Trump’s ban on media outlets CNN, MS Now, and Politico.
In a social media post on Monday, September 21, the White House said Trump TV will be streaming 24/7 and updated “in real time, with top past moments, announcements, and the latest and greatest from the administration all in one place.”
The station’s first broadcast was a speech Trump gave on July 3 at Mount Rushmore.
It is unclear whether Trump TV — available via the White House’s official YouTube channel — will also stream current events, especially now that Trump is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
Presidential pool coverage suspended
The Trump TV launch came after ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, and NBC decided to halt their pool coverage in solidarity with the three media outlets barred from the White House.
Together, the five networks form a press pool responsible for capturing and distributing footage of the president that is carried by news outlets worldwide.
Bryan Boughton, Fox News Washington Bureau Chief and current television pool chair, sent an email on Monday advising pool subscribers that the press corps “will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President.”
“This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties. There will be no replacement pool put in place,” added Boughton, as quoted by Politico.
The pool members also issued a joint statement on the same day, saying: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”
CNN’s absence noted
CNN was assigned for pool coverage on Monday, and its absence was greatly felt during the unveiling of a new White House helipad.
While Trump’s speech at the ribbon-cutting event was livestreamed by the White House, the lack of professional boom mics and audio setup meant the president’s speech was drowned out by the sounds of a helicopter’s engine running in the background.
A crew from CNN was also supposed to accompany Trump in New York, but only Real America’s Voice, a small pro-Trump network, was listed by the White House as a secondary crew for the trip.
The secondary assignment does not allow the network to perform the duties of the primary television pool.
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Threat to press freedom
CNN, MS Now and Politico have also filed a lawsuit on Monday, alleging that the ban is a violation of the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, and the US Constitution’s due process protections.
“This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” the outlets wrote in a joint statement.
“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting.”
“Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference,” they added.
A hearing on a motion for a temporary restraining order to block the ban’s enforcement will be held on September 23 and presided over by US District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was appointed by Trump in 2017, according to NBC News.
In 2018, Kelly ordered the Trump administration to temporarily return the press credentials of CNN’s Jim Acosta after the White House revoked his pass over a tense press conference.
This resulted in the White House reinstating Acosta’s pass permanently.
An assault on ‘fake news’
Trump announced the shocking ban on his Truth Social account last week, September 18, saying: “I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW…and Politico…from the White House as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!”
He did not give any reason for the ban, although the president has previously discussed barring certain media outlets and reporters, according to an NBC report, citing sources familiar with such discussions.
By the next day, journalists from the three news organizations were denied entry to White House grounds, with their passes confiscated by the Secret Service.
Defending the move on Monday, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that the “White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish.”
“It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America.”
“It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!”
Speaking to reporters that same day, US Vice President JD Vance said the ban is about “basic fairness”.
“They can still report. They still have access to free speech. They’re just not going to get an office in the White House anymore,” he added.
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