President Donald Trump’s answer to traditional media has hit an embarrassing nadir.
Earlier this month, the 80-year-old went scorched-earth on the media, banning two of the nation’s top networks from the White House for what he called “fake news.”
In reality, the notoriously thin-skinned president did not like their coverage of his failing economy, or his war in the Middle East and its effects on the prices of everyday items.
As part of his tantrum, he launched “Trump TV,” billed as an “essential” one-stop shop for all things Trump. However, the channel, which is actually just a 24-hour stream on the White House YouTube channel, only airs reruns of old speeches and engagements, and people evidently aren’t interested.
It opened to highs of 8,500, but has now nosedived to a genuinely embarrassing, unwanted record. At 2 a.m. Eastern, the self-declared “king of ratings” was pulling in fewer than 100 viewers, 91 to be exact.
To put that in context, more people can fit in Trump’s older Air Force One jet. The Boeing VC-25 has room for 71 passengers and 30 crew.
In fact, if all White House staff watched the stream, Trump would have more than four times his current viewership. An annual report in July stated that the White House had 411 employees.
This follows Trump TV being upstaged by an accidental Instagram live stream from former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. On Sunday, she started streaming while lying in bed with her 5-month-old daughter, Viviana.
“Just accidentally went live while trying to edit a reel LOL,” she wrote in a follow-up post on Instagram. “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! 😆😘”
She immediately drew over 1,000 viewers, far eclipsing the numbers Trump TV is raking in.
In fact, the “channel” was humbled on YouTube by pedicure streams and channels that loop videos of a whirring box fan.
Last week, while Trump TV struggled to muster 400 viewers, a 24-hour stream of a box fan on its highest speed setting drew over 1,500 viewers.
“That is surreal to think about,” the video’s creator said, noting that it outperformed the White House.
Greats such as “Rain on a Porch, Black Screen” and “Bass-Boosted Smooth Brown Noise, Black Screen” were also vastly outperforming the official White House effort.
Even a stream of toenail pliers being taken to someone’s feet humbled the president. “Wellness Treatment Session #satisfying Neldz SOLO Parent is live!” detailed someone getting a pedicure, and last week, over 2,000 people watched as Trump TV floundered.
The major flop is no surprise, given what the channel airs. Among the perpetual loop of rambling Trump speeches is the current offering: his January address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
In the speech, rolling at the time of writing, Trump told the assembled world leaders he will not use force to take Greenland from Denmark before into an impassioned tirade about why it should fall under U.S. control.
Other content on the channel includes his scripted speech at a state banquet at Windsor Castle in the U.K. a year ago. There, King Charles commended Trump’s personal commitment to “finding solutions to some of the world’s most intractable conflicts.” He launched a new war five months later.
Trump is not the only star of the snooze fest, though. Old JD Vance speeches also fail to rake in meaningful viewership. People scouring YouTube largely resist the pull of the vice president’s November 2025 MAHA summit chat with kooky Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which rolls around regularly on the channel.
The whole saga casts doubt on the former reality star’s claim to be the “king of ratings.” The ratings embarrassment follows his unceremonious ban of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House.
NBC, ABC, CBS, and even Fox News suspended their pooled coverage of Trump in solidarity.
Last week, a judge ruled that Trump must restore their access, but he is not backing down. On Wednesday, the White House removed CNN from the press pool covering Trump’s trip to Texas and Oklahoma on Thursday.
