Campaign officials for Donald Trump have been exploring the process of launching a new television network if his White House bid goes south, according to multiple reports that follow the Republican presidential hopeful’s repeated denial that he has any interest in operating his own media venture.
Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump’s eldest daughter Ivanka and has counseled the GOP nominee throughout his presidential campaign, met with investment banker Aryeh Bourkoff to discuss the possibility of a television channel that would target the GOP nominee’s core supporters, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
Recommended Stories
Bourkoff is the chief executive of LionTree LLC, a boutique investment bank and media advisory firm that he founded in 2012 after working on a handful of high-profile media deals that included companies such as NBCUniversal and the Warner Music Group Corp. Bourkoff ultimately declined Kushner’s proposal, according to sources close to the campaign.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Kushner and others were mulling the idea of developing a subscription-based television service modeled after existing services like The Blaze, which is owned and operated by conservative radio host and notable Trump critic Glenn Beck, or LevinTV, a digital channel launched in February by conservative radio host Mark Levin.
Campaign officials contacted a subscription streaming provider for additional information about the development of an online television service, one person with knowledge of the discussions told the Journal.
Trump and his campaign chairman, Steve Bannon, have both distanced themselves from rumors regarding the development of a post-election media venture, telling reporters that their sights are set solely on defeating Hillary Clinton in the upcoming election.
“I have no interest in a media company. False Rumor,” Trump told the Washington Post last month. “I’m out here every day doing this to bring positive change for our country. That TV talk is ridiculous.”
Preliminary conversations about a possible “Trump TV” channel were initially reported by Vanity Fair in June and have resurfaced in recent weeks amid Trump’s diminishing chances of winning the White House.
A media venture could become a profitable investment for Trump should he fail to make it to the Oval Office. The former “Celebrity Apprentice” host has proved to be a master of the media during the course of his presidential campaign, having benefitted from $2 billion worth of earned media before the GOP primary had even concluded.
Trump has also established a relationship with media moguls such as Roger Ailes, the former chairman of Fox News who was forced out of his post earlier this summer in the wake of multiple allegations of sexual harassment. Bannon has produced several documentaries and served as chairman of the right-wing website Breitbart.com, while Kushner is the principle owner of the New York Observer.
A spokeswoman for the Trump campaign did not return the Washington Examiner‘s request for comment.
