The Trump administration has spent much of its second term trying to bypass established news outlets by producing its own broadcast-style content. Recent efforts suggest that approach has yet to attract a large audience, even though the president built his public profile on television.
Before his 2016 presidential run, Donald Trump was known to millions of Americans as the host of NBC's The Apprentice, in which aspiring entrepreneurs competed for a job in his real estate business. The show was a breakout hit in its 2003-2004 debut season, though its ratings fell steadily in later years, contrary to Trump's frequent claims about its dominance.
Recent weeks have brought setbacks. Katie Zacharia, the president's latest press secretary, lasted only five days in the job. She was ousted after a poor on-camera showing at her first briefing, just weeks before the midterm elections. Trump's own public appearances have also drawn scrutiny, including reports that he has dozed off at events and meetings, and a claim that NATO "gave" Greenland to the United States.
On Tuesday, the US Small Business Administration streamed an hour-long program called the Million Dollar Pitch Competition. Five business owners presented to three celebrity judges: property investor Grant Cardone, rapper Nicki Minaj and Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia. They were competing for a share of a $1 million prize provided by Clover Network, a fintech company that supplies point-of-sale platforms. Actor Dean Cain hosted. The format blended elements of Shark Tank and American Idol, and it also promoted the administration's argument that it is bringing factory jobs back to the country.
The broadcast included a short video in which Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, spoke to an animated strand of DNA, saying "America's DNA is small business." The judges appeared to weigh presentation style heavily. After Marshall Sasse, CEO of a Wyoming pressure valve company, gave a solid but subdued pitch, Minaj asked whether he had access to any "cowgirls" who could add "more punch to the pitch." Trump did not attend, but appeared in short Oval Office segments with participants. Asked by the judges for advice on choosing a winner, he recalled his Apprentice catchphrase: "You're fired."
A day later, the YouTube stream had barely passed 60,000 views. Reaction on X, a platform generally friendly to Trump, was largely hostile. Some users said the White House cared more about game shows than the cost of living, and others compared the event to dystopian fiction such as The Hunger Games.
Other projects have fared similarly. A month after the White House launched a 24/7 Trump TV streaming channel, programming has included footage of border agents driving along the US-Mexico wall, followed by testimonials from people describing family members killed by migrants. On Wednesday, the channel aired footage of Trump's February State of the Union address. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's YouTube cooking series, The Real Food Show, has lost viewers since its July premiere, with six episodes released so far. Its latest installment featured Cain and actor and former bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno.
The clearest ratings success this year was UFC Freedom 250, a mixed martial arts event held in June in a ring built on the White House South Lawn. It averaged 7 million viewers, a record for a live event shown exclusively on Paramount+, though UFC lost about $30 million on it. That figure fell short of the Super Bowl-level records UFC CEO Dana White had promised to beat. White has since said he "can't afford" to return to the South Lawn for another event.
