President Donald Trump’s new 24-hour “Trump TV” livestream struggled to find an audience, with viewership dwindling to a fraction of its launch-day level as the White House attempts to promote its state-run broadcasting network. Adding to the awkward debut, an accidental Instagram Live from former press secretary Karoline Leavitt easily attracted a much larger audience.

The Daily Beast reported at the time that the White House livestream had fallen to 187 viewers, which was a new low for the channel. However, Leavitt temporarily gained 1,157 viewers after mistakenly beginning an Instagram live stream while she was in bed with her five-month-old daughter.

When Leavitt realised that she was live, she was clearly surprised and then stopped the broadcast at once without saying anything; she later gave an explanation of the incident in a post on Instagram.

“Just accidentally went live while trying to edit a reel LOL,” Leavitt wrote.

She also mentioned that she could arrange a live session later on to answer questions before signing off to go to sleep on Sunday.

The accidental broadcast occurred when Trump TV had been receiving low ratings after its launch on Sept. 21. The White House officially refers to the service as “TRUMP TV: The Essentials Station”, which is a continuous online stream containing administration videos, speeches, policy announcements and clips of Trump and other officials.

When it was first launched, the channel drew in about 8,500 viewers, as The Daily Beast stated. Its number of viewers then dropped sharply and at times fell below 1,000 during its first few days online. The outlet had 427 viewers around 7 a.m. on Wednesday before giving the figure of 187 viewers on Sunday.

At the time of writing this report, ‘Trump TV’ has barely picked up, with a measly 284 watching.

The White House has presented the stream as a way of viewing the administration's most important moments all in one place; it is available via the White House's existing YouTube channel and is also included on the White House website. On the same day, a promotional video from the White House announced that "Trump TV is Here". The White House page states that the stream is a 24/7 channel.

Trump TV was launched as a result of the president’s media ban on three major news organizations. Trump excluded CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House and seized their press passes. In response, NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox News then suspended their participation in the pooled television coverage.

The White House then launched the continuous broadcast, providing the administration with a direct means of distributing videos without having to depend on regular television coverage.

In an unprecedented move, President Trump's private company, DTTM Operations LLC, filed a federal trademark application seeking ownership of the name "TRUMP TV," on September 24.

Trademark attorney Josh Gerben told Newsweek that, "It is likely the first time in United States history that this has happened."

The White House has faced backlash for the move, with critics questioning the lack of independent journalism.

Jane Kirtley, professor emerita of media ethics and law at the University of Minnesota, speaking to NPR, said:

“I think the public has a right to have information that has been subjected to scrutiny and that has been vetted by independent sources.”

When President Donald Trump began his second term, he had promised lower prices, cheaper borrowing, and stronger economic growth, but several of the key elements of his economic programme have, in fact, contributed to inflationary pressure and have helped cause interest rates to rise.

As the Wall Street Journal points out, Trump's advisers had originally hoped that tighter spending and deregulation would reassure bond investors, lower the long-term Treasury yields, and enable borrowing costs to fall without the need for cuts in Federal Reserve rates. That result has not happened. The 10-year Treasury yield is now higher than it was on Inauguration Day and has recently hit its highest level since 2007.

Jessica Riedl, a former Republican Senate aide, told the Journal that the White House inflation woes were “entirely predictable,” adding that the tax cuts, new spending, and the President’s pressure on the Fed to lower interest rates are all factors in the rising inflation.

The Journal stated that the fiscal restraint which had been intended at the beginning of Trump's term never in fact came into effect, whereas a number of the administration's policies introduced new price pressures. Tariffs raised the cost of imported goods and the conflict with Iran caused oil and diesel prices to go up. Additionally, the newspaper said that immigration restrictions had an effect on reducing growth in the labour force.

The Labor Department found that the Consumer Price Index increased by 0.4% in August and by 3.4% over the previous year. Gasoline prices went up by 3.9% during the month and were responsible for more than one-third of the total monthly increase.

This month the Federal Reserve increased its benchmark interest rate by one-quarter of a percentage point, setting the target range at 3.75 to 4 per cent, which marks its first rise since 2023. The Fed's policymakers have also said that a further increase might take place before the end of the year if inflation stays high.

Trump has on several occasions stated that the rates should be much lower and has demanded that the federal funds rate be brought down to 1%. However, economists interviewed by Reuters explained that a sharp cut in rates could have the contrary effect by raising inflation expectations, causing the dollar to weaken and thereby pushing longer-term Treasury yields up.

The administration is likewise having to take account of economic factors that lie outside the original fiscal strategy; the prolonged Iran conflict has led to higher energy costs, whereas continued consumer spending and strong business investment have contributed to the economy’s growth.

The resilience seen has meant that the Fed has not had to act by reducing interest rates in order to promote growth, since ongoing inflation has caused policymakers to take the opposite course. As a result, consumers have found mortgages, car loans, and other types of credit to remain expensive even though Trump is still pushing for lower borrowing costs.

President Donald Trump's efforts to lower prices for American consumers have on numerous occasions met with opposition from lawmakers, farmers, oil companies, and economic realities, as the midterm elections draw near.

As reported by The Washington Post, the White House has suggested a number of proposals designed to alleviate the ongoing problem of inflation, such as allowing the import of beef without tariffs, imposing restrictions on the export of diesel, and making payments of $5,000 to adult Americans if the Republicans keep control of Congress. However, all of these measures have so far encountered major obstacles.

Inflation has stayed above the level that the Federal Reserve has set, and rising prices have continued to affect consumers. According to economists quoted by the Post, some of the policies introduced by Trump, such as tariffs and restrictions on immigration, have been responsible for the rise in prices. Additionally, the conflict with Iran has disturbed global oil supplies and increased energy costs.

The administration has put into practice a number of specific strategies.

In August, Trump temporarily cancelled the tariffs on foreign beef trimmings in order to boost imports and reduce the prices of ground beef, which have risen by nearly 25 percent since the start of his second term.

Opposition to the move came from Republican politicians from farm states and from cattle producers, who claimed that cheaper imports could damage American ranchers who are already facing higher costs for fuel, grain and fertilizer. Later, Trump signed an executive order intended as support for domestic producers, and it is reported that the administration has thought about reversing its policy on beef imports. However, the White House has denied any intention to do so.

Later, at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Trump suggested an even bigger measure, committing to giving every adult American a $5,000 dividend if the Republicans keep both the House and the Senate on November 3.

Congress would need to approve the plan, and it could cost more than $1 trillion. Certain Republican lawmakers have raised doubts as to whether such payments could contribute to inflation and lead to a larger federal deficit. According to The Post, there has been little progress in Congress on legislation authorizing the payments.

Then the administration shifted its focus to diesel prices after they had reached record levels.

Both Trump and Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, suggested limiting diesel exports, arguing that keeping more fuel in the United States would increase domestic supply and lower prices.

However, the big oil companies and Energy Secretary Chris Wright disagreed with the idea of a mandatory ban, claiming it might discourage production and in the end lead to higher prices. Wright later stated that any restrictions would most likely be voluntary.

Other attempts have led to only minor achievements. In August, Bessent announced plans to buy back Treasury bonds in an attempt to curb the rising yields, since these yields affect mortgage and other borrowing costs. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage, however, reached 7% last week for the first time since January 2025.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who is the president of the American Action Forum, described the emphasis on individual prices as being like "whack-a-mole", pointing out that the Biden administration too had taken targeted actions when inflation had been high.

As Holtz-Eakin told the Post, it does not deal with the economic problem and does not appear to have been particularly politically successful.

“This whack-a-mole with particular prices is something the Biden guys tried,” he said, continuing: “It doesn’t solve the economic problem, and it doesn’t seem particularly politically successful.”