White House launches ‘Trump TV’ as three news outlets challenge media access ban

The White House launched a “Trump TV” video stream on Monday, days after President Donald Trump banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, as the three news organisations sued the administration over the move.

The White House said the new stream would feature videos and highlights of what it described as the Trump administration’s achievements. Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said the move amounted to a steady stream of government propaganda.

A 60-second trailer showed Trump’s 2024 presidential victory. The first video streamed after the platform went live featured remarks he made on July 3 at Mount Rushmore. About 8,000 people were watching the stream on YouTube 15 minutes after its launch.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a lawsuit against Trump and other members of his administration in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeking a temporary restraining order to block the ban. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

“This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,” the lawsuit said.

The outlets said in a joint statement that leaving the ban unchallenged would threaten press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.

“The government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” they said.

Trump announced the ban on Friday on social media, accusing the three outlets of repeatedly reporting what he called “FICTION and LIES” in their coverage of the president.

On Monday, Trump defended the move, writing that the White House was not attacking the free press but was instead targeting what he called “FAKE NEWS”. He said it was a threat to national security but provided no evidence of such a threat.

White House television pool

The dispute has also disrupted the White House television pool, which provides shared video coverage of presidential events.

CNN is one of five news organisations — along with ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC — that make up the primary White House television pool. The organisations share the costs of covering the president, take turns organising coverage and distribute footage to outlets across the country.

CNN had been scheduled to cover Trump’s trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly on Monday but was unable to provide a pool feed.

The other major television networks responded by suspending presidential pool coverage. This removed the most widespread shared video source for White House events as Trump prepared to meet world leaders on the sidelines of the General Assembly and host Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington later in the week.

“This is to advise that, effective today (Monday), the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” Bryan Boughton, who runs the Fox News Washington bureau and is the current TV pool chair, said in an email.

“There will be no replacement pool put in place.”

The White House press room otherwise continued with its usual activities on Monday, including preparations for an afternoon ribbon-cutting ceremony for Trump’s new Marine One helipad on the South Lawn.

The audio on the White House’s own livestream of the ceremony, which it promoted as an alternative to the pool feed, was inaudible.

Election coverage adds to tensions

The dispute comes as Trump’s Republican Party seeks to retain its narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress in the November midterm elections. Polls show public support for Republicans declining, while Trump’s approval ratings are near historic lows.

A person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Natalie Harp, a close presidential aide, had shown Trump clips and graphics of recent news coverage, contributing to his decision to ban the three outlets.

The person said Trump had been “very unhappy” with coverage of the midterm elections and that his frustration intensified after a Supreme Court ruling last week blocked his attempt to limit mail-in voting.

“The Fake News has no place demanding a spot in the President’s Oval Office,” the White House said in response to Reuters questions about the lawsuit, Harp’s role and Trump’s views on election coverage.

“They’re completely capable of reporting from directly outside.”

The affected organisations moved quickly to coordinate their legal response. A person with direct knowledge of the matter said CNN contacted MS NOW and Politico within 10 minutes of Trump’s announcement on Friday to discuss joint legal action.

Victor Pickard, a professor of media policy and political economy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, said banning news organisations from the White House prevents journalists from confronting officials face-to-face and potentially obtaining spontaneous comments that could shed light on political matters, particularly during an election year.

Trump has previously taken action against media organisations. Last year, he banned the Associated Press from the pool of reporters covering his movements because the news agency did not adopt his preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico. The AP has sued over the ban.

His administration has also restricted journalists’ access to the Pentagon. During Trump’s first term, the White House sought to remove the credentials of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta and Playboy correspondent Brian Karem. Federal judges ordered their White House press passes restored.

The lawsuit filed on Monday was assigned to US District Judge Timothy Kelly, whom Trump appointed in 2017. Kelly previously ruled against Trump in 2018 in the Acosta case.

Trump has intensified his actions against the media since winning a second term, including lawsuits against multiple outlets and calls for broadcasters to drop programmes he considers unfair.

He has also called on the Federal Communications Commission to strip disfavoured broadcast stations of their licences.

David Ellison, son of Trump ally and Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, took control of Paramount and its CBS news unit, leading to changes at “60 Minutes”, the most popular US television news magazine.

Ellison is now seeking to acquire CNN parent Warner Bros, in a move approved by Trump’s administration.