Nicolai Haugsted
Trump TV hits humiliating new low as viewership drops below 100.
Donald Trump has spent decades understanding the value of an audience.
Television helped turn him into a household name long before politics, rallies routinely became televised spectacles, and the president has repeatedly celebrated strong ratings as a measure of success.
His latest venture into broadcasting, however, is attracting attention for a very different reason.
Trump TV, the White House’s recently launched 24-hour online stream, fell to just 91 concurrent viewers at around 2 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, according to a snapshot reported by the Daily Beast. The figure represents another sharp drop for a stream that attracted roughly 8,500 viewers around its launch, according to Daily Beast.
Calling it “TV” is slightly generous. Trump TV is essentially a continuous livestream distributed through the official White House YouTube account, website and app, filled largely with previously recorded speeches, appearances and administration material.
Ninety-one viewers makes for an awkward comparison
Late-night viewing figures naturally tend to be lower, and a single YouTube concurrency figure cannot be treated like a conventional television rating.
Still, 91 people is a striking number for an official White House operation built around one of the world’s most recognizable political figures.
Trump’s older Air Force One aircraft, a Boeing VC-25A, can accommodate 71 passengers and 26 crew members, according to the U.S. Air Force — meaning a full aircraft would contain roughly as many people as were simultaneously watching the stream at its reported low point.
Earlier snapshots had already produced some unusual competition.
Trump TV was drawing 389 concurrent viewers early on September 24 when a 24-hour YouTube stream featuring the sound of a box fan against a black screen had more than 1,500 watching at the same moment.
No speeches. No podium. No presidential seal.
Just a fan.
Even a pedicure found a bigger crowd
Household appliances were not the stream’s only unlikely rivals.
A livestream showing a pedicure attracted more than 2,000 simultaneous viewers during another comparison reported by the Daily Beast, while Trump TV struggled to reach comparable numbers. Other background-noise streams featuring rain and brown noise also attracted larger audiences during reported snapshots.
Such comparisons obviously do not constitute a comprehensive audience study. YouTube audiences fluctuate constantly, streams serve different purposes, and viewer totals depend heavily on the exact moment measured.
They do, however, underline the modest live audience Trump TV has sometimes attracted since its heavily promoted launch.
The White House introduced the service on September 21 as “Trump TV: The Essentials Station,” promising a round-the-clock destination for major moments from the administration.
White House digital strategy director Kaelan Dorr described the programming as the administration’s “greatest hits, unfiltered.”
Karoline Leavitt beat it by accident
Perhaps the more painful comparison came from someone closely associated with Trump himself.
Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accidentally started an Instagram livestream Sunday while lying in bed with her five-month-old daughter.
Leavitt quickly realized the mistake and ended the broadcast, but a screenshot reported by the Daily Beast showed 1,157 people watching.
“Just accidentally went live while trying to edit a reel LOL,” Leavitt later wrote.
“Sorry to those who got excited… but maybe I should go live soon and I can answer some questions from you guys?! For now, we are going to take our Sunday nap. Byeee! 😆😘”
Her accidental appearance therefore managed to attract more than 1,000 viewers without a planned broadcast, prepared material or even an intention to go live.
Trump TV offers plenty of Trump
Lack of presidential content certainly cannot be blamed.
Trump TV operates more like an endless presidential highlight reel than a traditional news network. Old speeches, official appearances, bill signings and administration events rotate through the feed without conventional anchors or much of the structure viewers would expect from television.
Programming has included Trump’s January appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he discussed Greenland, as well as older ceremonial appearances and material featuring Vice President JD Vance and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The White House describes the service as a way for viewers to see administration material without relying on news organizations to select or interpret it.
Dorr said at launch that traditional media had ignored or inaccurately reported some of Trump’s accomplishments, while the new stream would provide the administration’s preferred material directly to viewers.
Trump TV arrived during his war with the press
Timing behind the launch was hardly accidental.
Trump TV appeared amid a major confrontation between the White House and several national news organizations.
Trump had barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House access after accusing the outlets of unfair and false coverage. ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News subsequently suspended television pool participation in solidarity with the excluded organizations.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico challenged the restrictions in federal court.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly later temporarily ordered their White House access restored, finding that the outlets were likely to succeed on their due-process claim. The administration has nevertheless continued fighting over other forms of presidential access, including CNN’s participation in traveling press pools.
Against that backdrop, Trump TV offered the White House something traditional outlets could not control: its own uninterrupted feed.
