Real News Update

{{Infobox television

| image = Trump TV Title Card.png

| genre = Campaign advertising

| starring = Lara Trump
Kayleigh McEnany
Katrina Pierson

| country = United States

| language = English

| num_episodes = 110

| location = Trump Tower
New York, New York

| first_aired = {{Start date|2017|07|30}}

| last_aired = {{End date|2020|03|15}}

}}

Real News Update was a weekly webcast that lasted from July 30, 2017, to March 15, 2020, to support the Presidency of Donald Trump and his 2020 presidential campaign. The show was available on Donald Trump's Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts and was hosted by Donald Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, wife of Eric Trump. It was presented in the form of a short newscast lasting from one to five minutes and delivered updates on the accomplishments of the Presidency of Donald Trump.

Background

Lara Trump played an integral role in the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump and was regarded by many as a 'secret weapon' in securing a Republican Party victory in North Carolina that year, in support of her father-in-law.{{cite web | title=Lara Trump becomes face of Donald Trump's 2020 re-election campaign | website=The Telegraph | date=October 19, 2017 | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/19/lara-trump-becomes-face-donald-trumps-2020-re-election-campaign/ | access-date=July 17, 2018}}

Following Donald Trump's inauguration in January 2017, she disparaged the mainstream news media for excessively negative coverage of Donald Trump's presidency.{{cite web |url=https://shorensteincenter.org/news-coverage-donald-trumps-first-100-days/ |title=News Coverage of Donald Trump's First 100 Days |first=Thomas E. |last=Patterson |work=Shorenstein Center, Harvard Kennedy School |date=May 18, 2017 |access-date=May 12, 2019}} She also criticized CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC for refusing to air a May 2017 advertisement that listed President Donald Trump's accomplishments during his first 100 days as president.{{cite web |url=https://www.boston.com/news/media/2017/05/05/cbs-nbc-also-refuse-to-air-trump-advertisement |title=CBS, NBC also refuse to air Trump advertisement |first=David |last=Bauder |work=The Boston Globe |date=May 5, 2017 |access-date=March 4, 2018}}

Lara began work on Donald Trump's re-election effort shortly after his inauguration, working alongside Michael Glassner.{{cite web |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article154701289.html |title=The face of Donald Trump's 2020 campaign |quote= And by early 2017, Lara Trump was already working on the re-election effort alongside Michael Glassner, who is running the campaign committee |first=Katie |last=Glueck |work= McClatchy D.C. Bureau |date= Jun 16, 2017 |access-date= March 4, 2018}} By March 2017, she was hired as a senior consultant by the digital vendor for Donald Trump's campaign and would quickly become a prominent figure in his 2020 presidential campaign.{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2017-03-29/lara-trump-hired-by-trump-campaigns-digital-vendor |title=Lara Trump Hired by Trump Campaign's Digital Vendor |first=Julie |last=Bykowicz |work=U.S. News & World Report LLC |date=March 29, 2017 |access-date=March 4, 2018}}

Vox has speculated that Real News may be a partial fulfillment of Donald Trump's plan to launch his own news network, an idea that has been dubbed 'Trump TV'.{{cite web |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/8/2/16082750/trump-daughter-in-law-lara-facebook-program-real-news |title=Trump now has a "real news" program on his Facebook, hosted by his daughter-in-law |first=Garet |last=Williams |date=August 2, 2017 |work=Vox |access-date=August 2, 2017}}

Launch/ending

Real News Update launched its first video via Facebook on July 30, 2017, featuring an introduction by Lara Trump in which she states, "I bet you haven't heard about all the accomplishments the president had this week because there's so much fake news out there. We wanted to give you a glimpse into his week."{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/08/09/542357291/morning-news-brief-north-koreas-nuclear-threat-trump-tv|title=Morning News Brief: North Korea's Nuclear Threat, Trump TV|date=August 9, 2017|work=NPR|access-date=5 March 2018}}

In an interview shortly after the show's launch, she explained that the show's objectives were to serve as an outlet for under-reported positive news of Donald Trump's presidency and to curtail the general public's dependence on mainstream media.{{cite web |url=https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/lara-trump-president-re-election-bid |title=Lara Trump Becomes Early Central Figure In President's Re-Election Bid |first=Jonathan |last=Lemire |agency=AP|work=TPM Media LLC |date=October 19, 2017 |access-date=March 4, 2018}}

The show ended in March 2020 around the time of when government restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic began in the United States.

Production

The webcasts were funded by the Trump 2020 re-election campaign and filmed in a studio on the 15th floor of Trump Tower.{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/fake-news-trump-launches-real-news-series-n790241|title=Fake News? Trump Launches 'Real News' Series|last=Vitali|first=Al|date=August 7, 2017|work=NBC News|access-date=5 March 2018}} While Lara Trump was the primary anchor of the program, various other media and political figures also hosted the show, including Joy Villa, Steve Rogers, and Harlan Hill.{{cite AV media | people =Joy Villa | date =September 21, 2017 | title =Joy Villa - Weekly Update 9.21.17 | medium =YouTube video | language =en | url =https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzBqZpejZfw | access-date =May 12, 2019}}{{cite AV media | people =Lara Trump, Steve Rogers | date =April 30, 2019 | title =Real News Insights w/ Steve Rogers | medium =YouTube video | language =en | url =https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_qDOmqGNqs | access-date =May 12, 2019}}{{cite AV media | people =Harlan Hill | date =September 25, 2017 | title =Harlan Hill - Bipartisanship | medium =YouTube video | language =en | url =https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plgCfg1qW7M | access-date =May 12, 2019}}

Kayleigh McEnany, who later served as President Trump's press secretary, also hosted the program on August 6, 2017, one day after leaving her position at CNN.{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2017/biz/news/kayleigh-mcenany-cnn-donald-trump-video-watch-1202516918/ |title=Commentator Kayleigh McEnany Moves From CNN to Anchor Pro-Trump 'News of the Week' Segment |work=Variety Media |date=August 6, 2017 |access-date=March 4, 2018}}

Reception

Political analyst Jeff Greenfield likened Real News Update to the "long and if not entirely noble tradition" of political campaigning,{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/08/06/media/kayleigh-mcenany-trump-campaign/index.html |title=Kayleigh McEnany appears in pro-Trump 'news' video after leaving CNN|first=Dylan |last=Byers |date=August 6, 2017 |work=CNN |access-date=February 5, 2018}} though Dylan Byers at CNN remarked that it differs from previous political campaign media in seeking to discredit mainstream media and to advertise itself as a reliable alternative.{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/08/02/media/trump-real-news/index.html |title=Trump launches 'real news' Facebook series to combat mainstream media |first=Dylan |last=Byers |date=August 2, 2017 |work=CNN |access-date=August 2, 2017}}

BuzzFeed and Snopes reported that, despite the stated objectives of Real News, various news items on the program, such as Trump's donation of his second-quarter salary to the Department for Education and Foxconn's plans to build a factory in Wisconsin, did, in fact, receive coverage in mainstream media.{{cite news|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/amphtml/claudiakoerner/trumps-daughter-in-law-hosting-real-news-videos-for-the|title=Trump Has Launched A "Real News" Program On His Facebook, Hosted By His Daughter-In-Law|publisher=BuzzFeed|date=August 2, 2017|first=Claudia|last=Koerner}}{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/2017/08/02/trump-administration-real-news/|title=Trump Administration Launches 'Real News' Online Show|first=Arturo|last=Garcia|date=August 2, 2017 |publisher=Snopes|access-date=August 2, 2017}}

Digital news website Salon criticized the webcast as political propaganda.{{cite news|url=https://www.salon.com/2017/11/22/lara-trump-is-building-a-propaganda-operation-on-facebook/|title=Lara Trump is building a propaganda empire on Facebook|last=Sheffield|first=Matthew|date=November 22, 2017|work=Salon|access-date=5 March 2018}}

Aaron Blake of The Washington Post described an episode of Real News Update as "real spin, at best" and that it "felt a lot like propaganda -- or state TV."{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/08/07/trump-tvs-real-news-sounds-more-like-real-propaganda/|title=Trump TV's 'real news' sounds more like real propaganda|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 7, 2017|first=Aaron|last=Blake}}

Comedian and The Late Show host Stephen Colbert similarly likened the program to "state-sponsored propaganda", and compared it to his show's recurring sketch Real News Tonight—a newscast presented with an exaggerated bias towards Trump. He proceeded to present an edition of the sketch that was interspersed with clips from Real News Update, with the anchors referring to Lara as being its new "special correspondent".{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/345485-colbert-parodies-lara-trumps-real-news-program|title=Colbert parodies Lara Trump's 'Real News' program|last=Delk|first=Josh|date=2017-08-05|website=The Hill|language=en|access-date=2019-06-20}}