The World Will Get Worse if Trump Loses… Here’s How
By: Patrick Tompkins
Tags: Government, Leadership, Journalism, Elections, Politics

It is January 20th, 2021. Joe Biden is being sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. After being defeated in a modern-day landslide, Donald Trump packs up his belongings, family, and golden toilet. He leaves behind the White House as he heads for Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

Center and left-leaning Americans will celebrate in the streets. The orange buffoon will be finally be gone. We can return to some semblance of normalcy. Or so we think. Be careful what you wish for because this is what will happen next:

Donald Trump will launch the Trump News Network (TNN).

A new cable news source dedicated to far-right conservative reporting for his cult-like followers. TNN will continue to be used by the former President to brainwash and gaslight his millions of adoring fans directly. After all, they trust Donald Trump more than any other news source.

No more fact-checking. No more dealing with hard questions. And no more needing to pretend to condemn groups that Trump thinks deserve a seat at the table; like the Proud Boys, Qanon, and other far-right fringe organizations.

But why call it the ‘Trump News Network,’ you ask? Well, the Donald has a compulsion to put his name on everything. That is his brand. It is recognizable and valuable. It is on his buildings and was on his university (closed), his foundation (closed), his steaks (closed), and his casino (closed).

Plastering his name all over a network channel dedicated to right-wing news will likely be a great success and exactly what we expect from the king of Twitter.

All About Money

Donald Trump already has a built-in viewership, with more than 85 million followers across his social accounts. Advertisers do not care what political slant a channel has, as long as it means they can get their product, service, or message in front of millions of eyes. That equals billions in potential revenue for a network run by the Trump family.

Fox News, the current king of conservative news, has been rubbing Trump the wrong way lately. Any dissent felt by the President usually results in him lashing out at the network. Currently, FNC is the third most valuable news channel in the world, at an estimated $11 .4 billion.

It is not outside the realm of possibility that a Trump News Network could pull in more than $1 billion in revenue its first full year of operation and be north of $5 billion within five years.

The former President could create a top 10 network based on revenue and viewership within the decade. This would be an extremely enticing opportunity for Donald Trump, whom we recently found out is on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in personal debt.

Fox News launched in 1996, and it quickly became the most-watched news source in the United States. Leveraging his Oval Office experience and global name recognition, Donald Trump could very well see a similar rapid ascension and become a new age Rupert Murdock.

Licensing Over Launching

The most likely path to a Trump News Network would be Donald Trump doing what he always does, licensing out his name. The President rarely owns the things his name is attached to, usually opting for an easier route.

There is no need to carry cumbersome real estate assets, fork over loads of start-up capital, or deal with hundreds of contractors. Just find an attractive property with high-end clientele and slap that big beautiful ‘TRUMP’ name on it. This is the standard practice of Donald Trump.

Regarding Trump News Network, it is much more likely he partners with a newer network that is on the rise that he can control, like One America News Network. OAN has become a Presidential favorite over the last couple of years because of their clear, far-right lean, and favorable reporting. A start-up network like this one would be the perfect landing spot for a newly branded TNN.

With an existing lineup of conservative commentators and reporters, Donald Trump would have very little work to do to turn the operation into a full-fledged disinformation machine. A newer, smaller operation like OAN would also give Trump the authority to remake the network however he sees fit. Something he couldn’t pull off at a far more established Fox or Breitbart.

This would show an interesting evolution in the business mindset of Donald Trump and his family. Something I think he likely learned while running for and being elected President. Why sell the masses a thing, a product, when you can sell them a perspective?

This news network will expand his influence exponentially. Imagine a channel dedicated to 24/7 programming, approved and guided by Donald Trump. An entire world of disinformation, manipulated events, charismatic reporters, and flawed perspectives carefully crafted for maximum influence on his willing audience.

The President will make more money than he ever dreamed of with his own news networks, compared to the substantial losses of his hotels, golf courses, casinos, steaks, and university. And all it will cost the American people is our collective sanity. In the eyes of Donald Trump, that sounds like a fair trade.