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 helipad, and a president in front of rolling cameras—Donald Trump’s appearance at the White House on Monday should 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 helipad on the White House grounds. Using a pair of golden scissors, the U.S. president cut the red, white, and blue ribbon and described the project—which cost around six million dollars—as “a work of art.” Surrounding him were the construction workers who had built the landing pad.

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 parked behind him with its engine running—and was so loud that Trump’s remarks were barely intelligible in the footage released by the White House. This time, there was no TV audio recorded via a professional microphone.

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

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

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

Even small 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 wasn’t granted access, there was to be no replacement.

As a result, the camera and directional microphone that normally record Trump’s remarks for the other networks were also missing from the event on the South Lawn. 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 “plain to see 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 is currently 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.”