In June, Vanity Fair‘s Sarah Ellison broke the news that Donald Trump and his advisers were “looking for a way to leverage his supporters into a new media platform and cable channel.” Dubbed “Trump TV” in the ensuing media firestorm, the Republican nominee’s potential post-election plans — should he lose to Democratic rival Hillary Clinton — weren’t all that surprising to the countless pundits who gave comment. Four months later, however, Trump TV fell to the wayside while reporters honed in on the election’s final month and the innumerable controversies plaguing the New York real estate mogul’s campaign.
Thanks to a new Financial Times report, it seems Trump TV is back in the spotlight. According to several anonymous sources, Trump’s son-in-law and owner of the New York Observer, Jared Kushner, is trying to make the network into a reality with the help of “Aryeh Bourkoff, the founder and chief executive of LionTree, a boutique investment bank.” The two reportedly discussed the matter several months ago, but talks haven’t continued since their initial meeting.
Bourkoff, who has a track record of advising on major media buyouts and business deals, did not respond to the article for comment. Nor did Kushner, whose power within the Trump campaign makes him the “real campaign manager,” according to what one adviser told The New Yorker. As for whether or not Trump TV or anything like will actually happen, Trump himself denies the possibility. As he told the Washington Post in September, he has “no interest in a media company” and called the original Vanity Fair article’s suggestion a “false rumor.”
Even so, the suggestion that members of Trump’s larger team would be preparing for such a business opportunity post-election isn’t all the surprising. At least they’d probably score Sean Hannity from Fox News without a struggle.
(Via Financial Times)
