The White House has launched a 24/7 streaming service dubbed “TRUMP TV: The Essentials Station” as growing dispute between President Donald Trump’s administration and major US news organizations disrupts the traditional system for televising presidential events.
The White House announced the service saying it provides viewers with top videos, major remarks and highlights from the Trump administration, streaming around the clock and updated in real time.
The channel launched on YouTube with a broadcast of Trump’s July 3 remarks at Mount Rushmore, followed by footage from his 2025 inauguration as the 47th US president.
The launch comes as major US television networks suspend their pooled coverage of Trump after the White House prevented CNN from carrying out its scheduled role in the television pool.
CNN, ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC form the pool, which rotates responsibility for filming presidential movements and sharing footage among broadcasters. The arrangement has provided television networks with a common feed for presidential events since 1950.
Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, who is serving as the current pool chair, informed members on Monday that the television pool will no longer cover events designated as pool coverage, adding that there will be no replacement pool.
The decision followed the White House’s refusal to allow CNN to perform its assigned pool duties during Trump’s trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
Also Read: White House drops CNN from presidential press pool
The suspension leaves the White House to provide its own footage of some presidential events. During a Monday ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Marine One helipad on the South Lawn, the White House live streamed the event, but Trump’s remarks were reportedly inaudible because of helicopter noise.
The television networks’ decision also comes as CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a federal lawsuit against Trump and members of his administration, challenging their exclusion from the White House.
The three organizations asked a federal court in Washington DC for a temporary restraining order blocking the ban and restoring their journalists’ access to the White House.
They argued that the administration’s decision violates their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and the press.
A hearing on the request is scheduled for Wednesday. The case is assigned to US District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was appointed by Trump in 2017 and previously ruled against the administration in a dispute over CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s White House press credentials.
In a joint statement, the three outlets said the government should not determine what the press reports or publishes, arguing that leaving the ban unchallenged threatens independent journalism.
Trump, however, defends the restrictions. He says the White House is not attacking the free press but is targeting what he calls “FAKE NEWS”, which he describes as a threat to national security. He did not provide evidence of a national security threat in his post.
Trump had announced the ban on Friday, accusing CNN, Politico and MS NOW of repeatedly reporting what he described as “fiction and lies” about his presidency. Their journalists subsequently had their White House access badges deactivated.
The dispute prompted additional action from other media organizations. The Washington Post, New York Times and Associated Press said they will withhold or restrict distribution of photographs produced through the White House photography pool in support of the barred outlets.
The White House’s new streaming service now provides an administration-controlled platform for distributing presidential footage as the traditional television pool remains suspended. The launch does not restore the three outlets White House access, while the court is yet to rule on their request for emergency relief.
REUTERS
