PoliticsJimmy Kimmel Gives Struggling Trump TV a Brutal New Lineup
Jimmy Kimmel mocked Trump TV’s declining audience during his show.
Sept. 27 2026, Published 5:08 p.m. ET
Trump TV has already encountered a ratings problem, but Jimmy Kimmel arrived with an entire schedule of shows designed to rescue it.
The White House launched Trump TV: The Essentials Station this week, providing a continuous YouTube stream of President Donald Trump’s appearances amid his confrontation with the press.
“So far, it’s going about as well as everything else with Donald Trump’s name on it,” Kimmel joked on the September 23 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
A Rapid Ratings Decline
The late-night host highlighted the channel’s reported drop in viewership.
Citing a Daily Beast report, Kimmel said the channel lost almost 95 percent of its audience during its first three days.
“It peaked with an audience of about 8,500 people on Monday night,” he said. “By this morning, they were down to fewer than 500 viewers.”
YouTube displays how many viewers are watching a livestream, making the channel’s audience visible in real time.
“The only channel doing worse is the Strait of Hormuz,” Kimmel joked.
Kimmel Programs Trump TV
Jimmy Kimmel presented a satirical lineup of Donald Trump-themed television programs.
Kimmel reassured the president that the channel still had room to grow.
“But don’t worry. The channel is young. It’s new,” Kimmel said. “And our celebrity president is putting together a line of tippy-top-notch programming that’ll have the MAGA faithful tuning in with ratings bigger than the Super Bowl and two other Super Bowls combined.”
A mock promotional reel then featured Trump-themed versions of recognizable television shows and movies.
The fake lineup included The All-White Lotus, Survivor: Epstein Island, Pimp My Reflecting Pool, My Two Idiot Sons and Orange Is the New President.
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The Press Standoff Behind the Stream
His parody followed the White House’s launch of Trump TV: The Essentials Station.
Trump TV debuted after the president barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC subsequently suspended presidential pool coverage instead of replacing CNN during its scheduled rotation.
The three excluded outlets filed a joint federal lawsuit, and Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order Thursday directing the White House to restore their press passes.
The segment referenced the ongoing dispute between Donald Trump and news organizations.
Before that ruling, the absence of pooled network cameras left Trump increasingly dependent on the White House’s own footage to broadcast public events.
Kimmel’s parody imagined Trump TV taking a more coercive approach to building an audience.
“Streaming exclusively on your grandpa’s Dell computer,” the mock announcer said. “Trump TV is must-see TV. Literally, if you don’t watch it, you will be deported.”
