Months before the 2016 election, there was a lot of chatter about the possibility that Donald Trump’s whole presidential campaign was just a scheme to launch “Trump TV.” Vanity Fair even reported in June 2016 that, whatever Trump’s original motive for jumping into the race, he was looking into launching a “new media platform and cable channel” once his ill-fated White House run concluded:

Trump, this person close to the matter suggests, has become irked by his ability to create revenue for other media organizations without being able to take a cut himself. Such a situation “brings him to the conclusion that he has the business acumen and the ratings for his own network.” Trump has “gotten the bug,” according to this person. “So now he wants to figure out if he can monetize it.”

Trump, this person close to the matter suggests, has become irked by his ability to create revenue for other media organizations without being able to take a cut himself. Such a situation “brings him to the conclusion that he has the business acumen and the ratings for his own network.” Trump has “gotten the bug,” according to this person. “So now he wants to figure out if he can monetize it.”

This theory turned out to be, by and large, disastrously incorrect. But there were kernels of truth in it. Trump certainly found a way to monetize his media dominance. And now, a decade later, he has finally launched a product called Trump TV.

However, rather than the Oprah Winfrey Network-esque conservative media company Trump (allegedly) envisioned, it’s just a dinky livestream on the White House YouTube page. Trump TV was born of necessity after major news networks........

© Daily Intelligencer