Trump TV. What is it? It’s the “Essentials Station”.
What’s that? It’s a 24×7 live YouTube digital streaming channel launched last week by the White House on behalf of the 45th and 47th President of the United States of America, Donald J Trump.
What does it show? Donald J Trump, of course. There are a few diversions to important members of his administration, such as Vice President JD Vance and Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War, but like the name says, this is Trump TV.
Why has it been launched? For three reasons.
Firstly, President Trump loves television; he loves it even more when he sees himself on the TV screen. As he said recently at a public meeting in Kentucky, US, “I wanna watch myself on television.”
This is pure, unadulterated Trump: the simple truth with no false modesty. The question is, how much of himself does Trump “wanna watch”? Since he returned to the White House in January 2025, he has been constantly in the news, on TV, on our mobile phones, on social media, in front of our eyes.
He’s the most accessible US president yet: He always speaks to the press and makes news.
So how much more does he want to see of Donald?
That brings us to the second reason for Trump TV: Donald Trump doesn’t much like what he sees of himself on some TV news channels. In particular, he objects to CNN, MS NOW — and Politico, a digital news website devoted to politics — for “…their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!”
By the third week of September, he’d had it: He banned them from the White House overnight. He took to Truth Social, his social media platform, and explained why: “Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America”.
For the record, CNN, MS NOW and Politico have regained access to the White House after a court order blocked Trump’s ban.
The third reason is the official one.
A promotional video for Trump TV said: “TRUMP TV IS STREAMING NOW. 24/7, updated in real time, with top past moments, announcements, and the latest and greatest from the administration all in one place… Not every big moment has made it on your TV, now it can.”
By the way, the video features clips from popular US TV shows such as The Simpsons, Friends, Seinfeld and Modern Family. What have any of them got to do with news about the Trump administration? Why, nothing at all. But who cares? They’re eye-catching, familiar and, so what if the clips were used without copyright permission?
Trump TV: what do you see?
As President Trump watches Trump TV, he’s probably using his favourite adjective: “Fantastic”.
What does he (and we) get to see?
He gets to see himself giving speeches and listening to others giving speeches, but primarily he’ll be listening to his own voice. Maybe it’s a lullaby that helps him fall asleep?
Trump will see himself cutting ribbons, giving a smart salute, clapping, embarking on and disembarking from planes. Very little live coverage, although Trump TV is supposed to be updated in real time.
Fantastic for him, but for viewers?
From an Indian standpoint, Trump TV is not for you — unless you want primary source material of Trump. For example, you may want to listen to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state dinner speech at the White House during his recent visit, which ran most of Tuesday afternoon on the channel.
As this is being written, Trump TV is running footage from a flag-raising ceremony at the White House, with President Trump. The flag is so huge, it’s taking a while and many workers to get it up and flying.
Oh now, Trump TV has switched to Vance holding a press briefing (don’t know when) on “defrauding the American taxpayers…”
Indian viewers are better off watching DD News. Yes, it also telecasts Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speeches and those of his cabinet ministers; it also shows us Modi launching everything he can, or Home Minister Amit Shah opening the latest phase of the Barapullah flyover in Delhi-NCR. It also telecasts the achievements of the Modi government, but it gives us news — and it’s about India.
Also, there’s a schedule of sorts, TV news anchors and reporters with bulletins, discussions and headlines to explain the telecasts, so you know what you’re watching and which events are live. Right now, for example, DD is showing Shah giving a speech in Jalandhar.
Trump TV has nothing. No headings, no dates, no voice-over explanations, no reporters, no anchors, no schedule. No news. Even live telecasts are missing. For example, Trump spoke live at the United Nations on 22 September, but Trump TV showed him at an event in February, according to Newsweek.
It’s just a stream of unrelated footage from the past or present, chosen to show American viewers what the White House wants them to see.
Trump TV is like a puzzle you have to solve by looking at the colour of his tie, the backdrop, the other people in the frame and listening carefully to what he says, before you can figure out what’s going on.
Not worth the effort or the time.
What do the reviews say?
Reviews of his TV venture are not fantastic Trump probably thinks they’re “FICTION and LIES”.
Newsweek’s reviewer wrote: “After more than six hours, I had seen speeches, rallies, flagpoles, a food delivery, a prayer breakfast and political promotion. What I had not seen was a schedule or much explanation of why those moments were essential that morning.”
In ‘Watching 24 hours of Trump TV didn’t go as I’d expected,’ The Washington Post’s reviewer wrote: “My initial reaction to the launch of Trump TV was one of fear. If we have cut out impartial news outlets — if we only have access to what the government streams — then what might the ‘White House refuse to show us?’”
Across the Atlantic Ocean, The Guardian was as frank as Trump is: “The launch of Trump TV has been a fairly obvious disaster.” The publication called it “a digital pathway to hell.”
The Independent (UK) was sarcastic about Trump TV’s poor viewership: “Fewer than 700 people were watching the livestream compared to the thousands watching videos of squirrels eating nuts and rain hitting a tin roof.”
The author tweets @shailajabajpai. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant Dixit)