No TV crew there

A bizarre appearance: Trump speaks, but no one is listening

Trump’s attack on the free press is backfiring—he’s already feeling the consequences on the first day of the boycott.(Bild: AFP/JIM WATSON)

Cutting a red ribbon with golden scissors, a new multimillion-dollar landing strip, and a president in front of rolling cameras—Donald Trump’s appearance at the White House on Monday would normally have provided plenty of material for TV networks. But his words were almost completely lost—thanks to his dispute with all the major U.S. networks.

On Monday, Trump inaugurated a new helicopter landing pad on the White House grounds. With a pair of golden scissors, the U.S. president cut the red, white, and blue ribbon and described the project—which cost about six million dollars—as “a work of art.” Surrounding him were the construction workers who had built the helipad.

All that remained were the beautiful images
But anyone who wanted to hear Trump’s words had a problem. The new presidential helicopter, Marine One, was standing behind him with its engine running—and was so loud that Trump’s remarks were barely audible in the footage released by the White House. There was no television audio via a professional microphone this time.

The reason for this is the escalating dispute between the White House and several media outlets. On Monday, all major U.S. television networks had suspended joint TV coverage of Trump for the time being. The background to this is that the White House had previously barred CNN from covering the event.

Yes, you heard right—namely, (almost) nothing:

Even smaller networks can’t step in to help
Normally, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, and NBC take turns providing what’s known as “TV pool” coverage. One network provides cameras and audio equipment and then distributes the footage to other media outlets. It would have been CNN’s turn on Monday. Since the network was not admitted, there was to be no replacement.

As a result, the appearance on the South Lawn lacked even the camera and directional microphone that normally record Trump’s remarks for the other networks. Even C-SPAN, which regularly broadcasts government events, stated that it could not show the event without the pool feed.

“The consequences are clearly visible here”
The situation was particularly curious at Newsmax, a Trump-friendly network. While they still attempted to broadcast the event, Trump was barely audible. A host noted that there was no microphone because the pool cameras were missing. “Maybe this is an example of how it’s backfiring a bit,” he said. The consequences, he added, were “clearly visible here—you can’t hear what the president is saying.”

Another host commented that the exclusion of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico would “not end well” for the White House and ultimately served to “shame” the affected media outlets.

Broadcasters with a Clear Message
It remains unclear how long the TV blackout at official Trump events will last. In a joint statement, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, and NBC News emphasized: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate and independent information about its government. No government should restrict a news organization simply because it disagrees with its reporting.”