TUNED OUT

Trump’s TV Station Suffers Humiliating New Ratings Defeat

The “king of ratings” has crashed—in a head-to-head with The Daily Beast Podcast.

President Donald Trump’s struggling “Trump TV” has suffered a new humiliation: It has been beaten in views by the Daily Beast’s own, newly launched, YouTube 24/7 station.

After just 29 minutes of going live on Friday, The Daily Beast Podcast station was being viewed by more people than Trump TV, the president’s YouTube station, which has been live for almost two weeks after the White House launched it with much fanfare.

The Beast’s new channel shows previously recorded editions of our hit The Daily Beast Podcast around the clock. The Trump channel shows old White House videos, mostly of Trump.

When the Beast’s channel passed Trump’s just after 4 p.m. on Friday, hundreds of viewers were glued to Joanna Coles, the Beast’s Chief Content and Creative Officer, interviewing Epstein victim Stacey Williams.

Williams alleges that she was groped by Trump himself after Epstein took her to Trump Tower in the mid-1990s. Trump has denied all wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

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At the same time, on Trump’s channel, video of the president, taken Wednesday in the Oval Office, showed him unveiling what he said were major energy investments, alongside an all-male lineup that included Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and energy industry executives.

Being beaten by a newly launched station’s Epstein victim interview is the latest blow to the troubled Trump YouTube station. The self-professed “king of ratings” launched it in a fit of pique over what he said was not enough “positive” coverage from the media.

The station, which is part of the White House’s YouTube channel, was unveiled on Sep. 21, three days after the president banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House.

“Top videos, major remarks, and must-see highlights streaming 24/7 and updated in real time. Stay informed and stay up-to-date,” the White House promised, saying it was a place where people can “watch the Trump Administration’s biggest moments all in one place.”

However, the ability to comment was instantly disabled, suggesting that White House officials were not keen to find out what the public really thinks.

Initially, as many as 8,500 people were watching at once. But then the ratings rapidly plummeted. Three days later, it was beaten in the early hours of the morning by a livestream of a box fan. Jimmy Kimmel highlighted the Daily Beast’s coverage and quipped, “The only channel doing worse is the Strait of Hormuz.”

Late last Sunday, former Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt mistakenly started a very brief Instagram Live in bed on her phone, and it beat Trump TV in viewer numbers.

And then on Thursday morning, it fell to an excruciating 91 viewers.

The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.

Live stations on YouTube are a new way to watch videos, and reflect how people now use the platform on traditional television screens.

The Daily Beast Podcast, hosted by Coles, has had rapid growth and is part of our YouTube channel, which now has more than 700,000 subscribers, and also gives access to Inside Trump’s Head, where Coles and Michael Wolff, Trump’s definitive biographer, explore exactly why he behaves as he does.

See more of our coverage in your search results.

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Hugh DoughertyExecutive Editor

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