Trump TV appears to have already become a reality.
On Monday, Donald Trump announced on his Facebook page that his campaign is launching a Facebook live stream that will appear every evening:
Trump promoting “nightly campaign coverage” on his Facebook page starting tonight. 6:30pm– up against the real nightly news– coincidence? pic.twitter.com/0ImiXaFRvJ
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 24, 2016
The program began with co-hosts Cliff Sims and Boris Epshteyn, who, according to Mediaite, denied that the nightly Facebook live stream signaled the beginning of Trump TV:
Boris Epshteyn says it’s left-wing media spin that their FB live is Trump TV. “That’s not what this is”
— Betsy Woodruff (@woodruffbets) October 24, 2016
Sims and Epshteyn are both Trump advisors.
Trump campaign manager Kellyane Conway appeared on the show and declared that “we will win.” Republican National Committee communications director Sean Spicer later in the show discussed the state of fundraising, declaring that they were “ahead of where we’ve ever been before” and hailed Trump as a “rock star,” per National Public Radio and The Guardian.
The most notable name that appeared on the episode was Tomi Lahren, who hosts the program Tomi on The Blaze. Lahren urged Trump supporters to “to join the basket” and then eventually “jump out of the basket, and you’re going to have to make your voices heard,” referencing Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment.
James O’Keefe’s latest video was also one of the topics she discussed on the live stream:
Tomi Lahren on Trump TV FB stream: James O’Keefe: “A journalist in the true sense of the word”
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) October 24, 2016
The Blaze host also lavished praise on the Trump family as “warriors” battling the mainstream media. At one point, the awkward sound of Skype noises could be heard as Lahren was talking.
Lahren has been rumored to be a possible face of Trump TV, given her ardent support for Trump in the general election and recent meeting at Trump Tower.
The stream eventually cut to a Trump campaign rally in Florida.
The reviews of the first Trump TV episode — and that’s what it seems to be, despite claims to be the contrary — are not so good:
I can say definitely that Roger Ailes is not yet involved in Trump TV because what we are watching right now is terrible.
— Jamie Weinstein (@Jamie_Weinstein) October 24, 2016
I honestly do not have it in me to start accepting that Trump TV is going to be a thing.
I cannot give it space in my brain. https://t.co/1uSqzZdUib
— Carlos Maza (@gaywonk) October 24, 2016
This Trump TV news crawl of Breitbart News headlines is like alt-alt-alt-right!!! pic.twitter.com/aNxwXAoIen
— ¡El Bad Hombré! ن (@SooperMexican) October 24, 2016
Who the hell is writing the news crawl over at TrumpTV?!?! pic.twitter.com/sWV9yyzgGs
— ¡El Bad Hombré! ن (@SooperMexican) October 24, 2016
Daily Wire editor-in-chief Ben Shapiro’s prediction of Trump TV has come to fruition. The Trump campaign has already begun pivoting into the next Trump venture given that it appears increasingly likely that he will lose the presidential race on November 8.
The first episode of Trump TV can be seen below:
