An accidental Instagram Live from former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt drew more than six times as many viewers on Sunday as President Donald Trump's flagship state media channel — and she wasn't even trying.
Leavitt accidentally opened a live stream while reclining in bed alongside her infant daughter, Viviana, who is five months old. The 29-year-old appeared startled and killed the broadcast almost immediately without saying a word.
"Just accidentally went live while trying to edit a reel LOL," Leavitt wrote in a follow-up post, according to The Daily Beast. "Sorry to those who got excited... but maybe I should go live soon and I can answer some questions from you guys?! For now, we are going to take our Sunday nap. Byeee!"
The blunder still pulled 1,157 viewers, according to a screengrab captured by the outlet. At that same moment, the White House's official "Trump TV" livestream had cratered to just 187 watchers, a new low for a channel the administration had billed as "essential," The Daily Beastreported.
The humiliation caps a steep fall from launch day. The stream, formally titled "TRUMP TV: The Essentials Station," debuted September 21 at 7 p.m. with roughly 8,500 first-hour viewers before its audience collapsed, according toAxios. Reports stated that, by Wednesday morning, the audience had dwindled to just 427.
Throughout its first week, the White House channel repeatedly lost ground to random YouTube content, among it a clip of a spinning box fan playing against a darkened background and footage of a man sitting through a pedicure.
Trump launched the channel after barring CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from White House grounds and revoking their press credentials. The major broadcast networks — NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox News — responded by pulling out of the pooled television arrangements that normally cover the president.
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was quick to pounce.
"The only channel doing worse is the Strait of Hormuz," Kimmel quipped on his Thursday show, riffing on The Daily Beast's reporting to skewer the White House effort.