DOMINANT ANGLE
Lisbon sees the launch of "Trump TV" as the logical outcome of an unprecedented showdown between the White House and major American networks, including Fox.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
"Trump TV" was launched on the night of Tuesday, September 22, hosted on the White House website and continuously broadcasting "the best moments" of the administration (Observador).
- 02
Trump had announced on Truth Social, last weekend, the ban "with immediate effect" of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House, citing their "news" deemed false.
- 03
On Monday, September 21, CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox showed solidarity with CNN by refusing to replace it in the coverage pool and suspending the common broadcast of presidential events.
ANALYSIS
Lisbon, September 23, 2026. This is the paradox with which the Portuguese press sums up the episode: deprived of its usual coverage by the major American channels, the White House has equipped itself with its own television. According to Observador, "Trump TV" was launched on Tuesday night, hosted on the official website of the presidency and already streaming continuously, presented as bringing together "os melhores momentos, anúncios e o mais recente e importante da administração, tudo num só lugar" — the best moments, announcements, and the latest and most important news from the administration, all in one place. On the White House's social media, the message accompanying the launch was straightforward: "Nem todos os grandes momentos chegaram à sua televisão, agora podem chegar" — all the great moments were not arriving on your television, now they can.
For the Portuguese media, this initiative is above all a response. It comes after the unprecedented decision by the major American channels to suspend their joint coverage of presidential events, in support of CNN, which was itself targeted along with MS NOW and the Politico website by a ban on access to the White House. Last weekend, Donald Trump announced on Truth Social the immediate ban of these three newsrooms, citing their "notícias" which he deemed false. The judicial response was not long in coming: the three targeted media outlets announced that they would take legal action to, according to their joint statement, defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.
It was then, on Monday, that the front expanded: CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox — the latter being close to the administration — solidarized with CNN, refusing to replace it in the rotating coverage pool and suspending in turn the shared broadcast of presidential events. It is this solidarity between historical competitors, including Fox, that the Lisbon press highlights as the real turning point: a usually divided sector is uniting against the executive, which is responding by freeing itself from traditional channels.
No date for the opening of a lawsuit before a judge is mentioned in the Portuguese reports, which remain focused on the mechanics of the media response rather than its judicial outcome.
