Donald Trump’s 24/7 “TV” channel has lost almost 95 percent of its already meager viewership in a humiliating disaster for the president.
The 80-year-old former reality TV star, who has declared himself “the king of ratings,” might need to think of a new name just two days after he launched “Trump TV: The Essentials Station,” a 24-hour YouTube livestream on the existing White House channel.
The stream follows his ban of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House on Friday. America’s major TV networks—NBC, ABC, CBS, and even Fox News—suspended their pooled coverage of Trump on Monday in solidarity.
The same day, the White House announced the stream, where viewers can “watch the Trump Administration’s biggest moments all in one place.”
It opened to a paltry 8,000 viewers, peaked at 8,500, then collapsed by more than half just 90 minutes later and cratered below 1,000 by 6 a.m. on Tuesday, as the morning news shows it was supposed to contend with got underway.
By 9.30 a.m., as Trump prepared to address the United Nations General Assembly, it had rallied to around 1,700, but viewership generally has been unflattering to the ratings-obsessed president.
It got even worse on Wednesday morning. The Daily Beast recorded an astonishing low of 427 viewers at around 7 a.m., down by about half from the same period 24 hours earlier and down a staggering 94.98 percent from its opening high.
The humble viewership is perhaps no surprise. The White House has promised a lot but has delivered little so far.
“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 announcing the stream read.
However, so far it has shown only reruns of old speeches and engagements. At the time of writing, it is broadcasting Trump’s dinner with Britain’s King Charles, which happened a year ago. It also showed the same event on Tuesday morning.
The Daily Beast has asked the White House if it intends to try to fix the viewership issues, or whether it is waiting to patch things up with the TV networks.
It has been a calamitous start to life after the press pool. After Trump banned the trifecta of organizations, and the others pulled back in protest, he was inaudible on the White House’s own livestream as he showed off his new helipad on Monday.
Photographers from major wire agencies and news outlets—including The New York Times, the Associated Press, AFP, Reuters, Getty, and The Washington Post—have also paused publishing new images of the 80-year-old president.
However, major organizations still covered him as he attended the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. This led to Trump melting down at CNN’s star reporter, Kaitlan Collins.
After she asked him a question at the U.N.’s headquarters, he snapped.
“I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me,” the president said. “You should not be here covering me. You said you weren’t going to cover me. You shouldn’t be covering me.”
Collins later said that CNN had been accredited by the United Nations.
Hours later, Trump doubled down with a bizarre attack on CNN. Titled “Day in the life of a CNN Reporter,” he shared a video that shows comedian and content creator Patrick W. Cutler put on a red dress, blond wig, and red lipstick.
“My life as someone who tells lies all day long,” the video starts.
“First, I get up, then I put on my fake news outfits. I just can’t wait to make up a bunch of false rumors about Trump today. All right, let’s go bash Trump 24/7.”
