EXCLUSIVE: Donald Trump 'Eyes White House Reality TV Show' Amid Media Boycott

The administration has responded by promoting its own online "Trump TV" feed as the president searches for ways around the blackout.

A source familiar with the project told us: "Trump understands television better than almost any politician in the world and he isn't going to accept disappearing from people's screens. There is a feeling around him that if the traditional networks won't provide the show, the White House can increasingly produce the show itself.

"The idea is to make presidential coverage more direct, more entertaining and more recognizably Trump. Nobody should expect him to surrender the medium that helped make his political career. But he is starting to see it as an opportunity to produce some kind of 'Meet the Trumps' reality show from inside the White House, which is a very disturbing prospect.

"He could end up spending more time chasing ratings than trying to fix the country, as ratings and online traffic clicks have always been his big obsessions."

Trump's first encounter with the TV boycott came during a ribbon-cutting for his new White House helipad, when the absence of the regular television pool meant viewers struggled to hear his remarks over the noise of Marine One.

But he was back on television after traveling to New York, where cameras covered his appearance alongside Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Gracie Mansion.

Trump said: "They said they're going to boycott me, but they never boycott me, so I wasn't very worried about that. Look at all that press."

Television has been central to Trump's public identity since long before politics. Ramin Setoodeh, author of Apprentice in Wonderland, said Trump had told him ratings were his fundamental measure of television success.

Setoodeh told the New York Times: "To him, this is equal to being canceled. This is equal to having a hit show and having the networks pull it from the line-up."

He added: "This is a real crisis for the president."

The TV dispute began after Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico, accusing them of publishing false coverage.

The three organizations have now sued the administration, alleging violations of their First and Fifth Amendment rights.

Trump wrote online: "Virtually every story about me, or anything having to do with me, is negative, wrong and, in many cases, DANGEROUS for our Country!"

The White House's answer has included "Trump TV," a continuous online stream carrying administration-approved footage of speeches, signings and other appearances.

Another source said Trump's television background makes further expansion of the concept an obvious possibility.

The insider added: "Trump spent years on The Apprentice and understands cliffhangers, characters, spectacle and creating moments people talk about. The thinking is that White House content doesn't necessarily have to resemble conventional political broadcasting.

"If the networks remain outside, that potentially creates an enormous opening for Trump to build something around his own personality and presidency."

Former White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin said the loss of usable footage from the recent helipad ceremony would have frustrated Trump.

She added to the Times: "He's got to be furious there's no video with good audio from a consequential day."