Trump TV Less Popular Than a Black Screen as Viewers Flee

Politics admin September 24, 2026 0 Comments

Trump TV Less Popular Than a Black Screen as Viewers Flee

The president’s “Trump TV” is being humbled on YouTube by pedicure streams and channels that loop videos of a whirring box fan.

President Donald Trump, amid much bluster, told the world he didn’t need the press when the White House launched his “channel,” which is actually just a YouTube livestream, on Monday.

That came after he unceremoniously banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House, and then NBC, ABC, CBS, and even Fox News suspended their pooled coverage of Trump in solidarity.

“Trump TV,” billed as an “essential” one-stop shop for all the president’s successes, opened to around 8,500 viewers. On Thursday morning, the Daily Beast recorded a new nadir: just 389 viewers.

Granted, this was at 3.20 a.m. Eastern. However, other livestreams running at the same time don’t appear to have the same issues drumming up interest.

Take ‘DJ Grossman’ for example. This creator shares streams to help people sleep, though reruns of Trump’s old speeches might be effective in that regard.

Grossman’s 24-hour stream of a box fan on its highest speed setting is currently humiliating Trump. “Box Fan – High Speed, Black Screen 💨⬛ • Live 24/7 • No mid-roll ads,” at the time of writing, is being enjoyed by over 1,500 people.

Trump’s stream was pulling in fewer than 400. At the time of writing, the broadcast is a chat between Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Vice President JD Vance.

Greats such as “Rain on a Porch, Black Screen” and “Bass-Boosted Smooth Brown Noise, Black Screen” are also vastly outperforming the official White House effort.

But perhaps most embarrassingly for the president, more Americans would rather listen to horror stories in the middle of the night than listen to a loop of his best bits.

“Creepypasta Horror Stories Radio- 24/7 – Scary stories to relax/study to” is currently enjoying almost 600 viewers, a couple hundred more than Vance’s sit-down with Trump’s kooky health chief.

Even a stream of pliers being taken to someone’s toes is humbling the president. “Wellness Treatment Session #satisfying Neldz SOLO Parent is live!” details someone getting a pedicure.

At the time of writing, the pedicurist is yanking at someone’s toes with pliers and scraping dead skin with a scalpel. Over 2,000 people are watching.

The Daily Beast asked the White House on Wednesday whether it had a plan to fix the embarrassment. No response was forthcoming.

“The only channel doing worse is the Strait of Hormuz,” Jimmy Kimmel quipped on his eponymous show on Thursday evening, after using the Daily Beast’s coverage to roast Trump’s channel.

The whole saga casts doubt on the 80-year-old former reality star-turned-president’s claim to be the “king of ratings.”

A lot was promised when the stream was announced. “Top videos, major remarks, and must-see highlights streaming 24/7 and updated in real time. Stay informed and stay up to date!” a statement said.

But in reality, the White House is playing the same old videos on a loop.

Change could be on the horizon, just not in the way Trump envisioned. In a dramatic early-morning ruling on Thursday, a judge ordered Trump to immediately restore the press credentials of the three media outlets he banned.

Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted a 14-day temporary restraining order, meaning he ruled in favor of the news organizations who sued the administration over the ban.

He found they were likely to succeed on their claim that the White House revoked their press credentials without the constitutionally required due process.

Legendary First Amendment Attorney Ted Boutrous, who is representing CNN, MS NOW, and Politico in the lawsuit, said on Thursday morning, “This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process, and rule of law. We greatly appreciate the court’s decision.”

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.