DOMINANT ANGLE
Budapest gauges the launch of "Trump TV" by one figure: 29% popularity, deemed historically low by the American Research Group, released as the White House opens its own channel.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Trump TV, a YouTube channel launched by the White House on Monday, first aired a speech from July 3 given by Donald Trump at Mount Rushmore (Telex)
- 02
California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom called the state television channel and its actions "autocratic behavior" in a message posted on X on September 22, as cited by HVG
- 03
HVG reported a popularity rating for Donald Trump that has fallen to 29%, a level described as historically low by the American Research Group
ANALYSIS
Budapest, September 23, 2026. The Hungarian press first recalls an image: that of a July speech, delivered at Mount Rushmore, chosen as the first program broadcast on "Trump TV", the channel the White House launched on YouTube on Monday. Telex describes a 24/7 service presented as "the essential station", promising to show "the most important moments, major speeches and must-see moments, updated in real time". The US government website now redirects to this stream, with the comment: "not all important moments could fit on TV, now they can".
The launch comes just a few days after the exclusion of CNN, Politico, and MS NOW journalists from the White House, a measure the Justice Department is defending in federal court as legal, while Donald Trump claims he would let the media back in if a court decided so. HVG links the two episodes to a third figure: a 29% popularity rating, deemed "historically low" by the American Research Group, and suggests that the launch of the channel is a response to these criticisms and poor polls.
The Hungarian press extensively quotes the reaction of California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, published on X: "First, Trump banned independent press from the White House. Now, he's launching what is literally a state TV to try to drown out the fact that he and his corrupt administration are failing the American people. This is truly autocratic behavior from a failed president." HVG repeats the word "autocratic" and explicitly attributes it to Newsom, without making it its own.
Neither Telex nor HVG elaborates on the Justice Department's argumentation in court, nor the position of the jurists cited by the American press on the jurisprudence related to correspondents' access. The Hungarian angle remains that of the symbol: a presidential channel that replaces, for part of the public, the coverage now suspended by the major American channels themselves, including Fox News.
