President Donald Trump floated the idea of creating a U.S.-government-backed television network as a counter to CNN International with a Monday afternoon tweet:
While CNN doesn’t do great in the United States based on ratings, outside of the U.S. they have very little competition. Throughout the world, CNN has a powerful voice portraying the United States in an unfair….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 26, 2018
….and false way. Something has to be done, including the possibility of the United States starting our own Worldwide Network to show the World the way we really are, GREAT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 26, 2018
Trump has frequently clashed with CNN and has castigated them in the past for their broad international presence. The president believes the news organization is making the country look bad in its coverage of his administration. (RELATED: CNN Gets Several Things Wrong In Lawsuit Against The White House)
.@FoxNews is MUCH more important in the United States than CNN, but outside of the U.S., CNN International is still a major source of (Fake) news, and they represent our Nation to the WORLD very poorly. The outside world does not see the truth from them!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 25, 2017
CNN maintains a robust presence abroad with flagship stations in several foreign nations. The president appeared to be suggesting in his tweet that he would support a government-backed competitor to CNN.
Trump’s suggestion appears to be bear resemblance to the Voice of America service, which “began broadcasting in 1942 to combat Nazi propaganda with accurate and unbiased news and information,” according to its website.
VOA now provides “service in more than 40 languages” and serves “an estimated weekly global audience of 236.8 million.”