Launch of “Trump TV” draws comparisons to North Korean media

On Monday, President Donald Trump launched what is ostensibly state-run media, dubbed “Trump TV,” while decrying the “fake news” media. Late last week, Trump abruptly banned CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House. In response, the outlets sued on First Amendment grounds as major television networks — including ABC, CBS, NBC and even Fox News — boycott the White House press pool in solidarity. During one press conference Monday, Trump was completely inaudible while C-SPAN said it would not show the president’s White House helipad ribbon-cutting because it relies on the pool for its feed.

So now Trump is launching his own news service, which is mostly just a live feed on the White House app and YouTube channel. “The press, in some cases, reported inaccurately or not at all on the Administration’s many record breaking accomplishments on behalf of all Americans,” Kaelan Dorr, the White House head of digital strategy, claimed on social media. “Trump TV is a 24/7 livestream of the Administration’s greatest hits, unfiltered.”

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Such greatest hits include, according to Variety, “Trump’s July 3, 2026, speech at Mount Rushmore, in which he dubbed his political rivals ‘godless’ and ‘evil’ communists.” Yet Trump TV is attracting comparisons to state-run TV in actual communist countries like China and North Korea, though with presumably much less viewership. “At its launch Monday night, Trump TV peaked at 8,000 viewers, dipping to around 4,000,” the Independent reported. 

“It’s official, we live in North Korea,” commentator Dean Withers said, while Trump’s former White House Press Secretary during his first term, Stephanie Grisham, said “Trump TV” is similar to what U.S. adversaries use. “You know who else does this? Russia, China, and Iran to name a few…”

“This is truly autocratic behavior from a failed President,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said on X.