Like, Subscribe and Govern: The White House Is Creating Its Own Media Ecosystem

Monday evening, a new YouTube channel flickered to life with a sizzle reel that would give an entertainment IP lawyer conniptions: A supercut featuring clips from shows like The Office , Family Guy , The Simpsons , Friends , and dozens of other classic TV shows.

The only wrinkle? The channel had taken over the White House YouTube page. In fact, it was a White House project: Trump TV.

Last Friday, President Trump banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, and threatened that others would follow. The other networks, including Fox News, NBC News, CBS News and ABC News, responded by suspending the TV press pool.

So the White House launched its own. While Trump TV launched with a sizzle reel suggesting it had something for everyone (the tagline is “the essentials station”), in practice it seems to be focused on live speeches and events, the sort of pool coverage that networks would, maybe, break into, if it was newsworthy enough.

But the Trump TV YouTube channel also underscores the extent to which the Trump administration is slowly, subtly creating its own entire media ecosystem, one that includes live speeches, sure, but also influencer cameos, and even an entire slate of shows, with cabinet secretaries as the star.

Over the weekend (as the mainstream media was scrambling to figure out how to respond to the White House press ban), the Pentagon shared photos and a hype video of YouTubers turned powerhouse creators Jake and Logan Paul addressing troops in the Pentagon press briefing room (it had already banished most journalists from the building in a previous dustup with the media). Other officials have similarly hosted influencers (Dr. Paul Saladino, conservative pundits, etc.)

And last week the Small Business Administration hosted what it called the “Million Dollar Pitch” competition, a Shark Tank -esque show, hosted by Superman actor Dean Cain, with judges that include rapper Nicki Minaj, financial influencer Grant Cardone, Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, with SBA administrator Kelly Loeffler along for the ride. The event was filmed for a TV special set to air next month (maybe on Trump TV?).

Last month the Department of Transportation launched a YouTube series called The Great American Road Trip , with Secretary Sean Duffy and his family exploring America, supporting the administration’s America 250 initiatives in the process (with guest appearances from the likes of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum).

Duffy, of course, is a media veteran, having forged his career on MTV’s The Real World and Road Rules (it’s where he met his future wife Rachel Campos-Duffy), and he subsequently would work as a contributor to both CNN and Fox News.

In fact the administration is staffed with media veterans, from former Fox News hosts Pete Hegseth and Jeanine Pirro, to Dr. Mehmet Oz, who hosted a syndicated TV show until his ill-fated U.S. Senate run in 2022. When Katie Miller left the administration, it is telling that she chose to launch a YouTube interview show rather than seek a TV contributor deal.

HHS Secretary Robert F.