Trump, who is definitely not preparing a media empire, already owns TrumpTelevision.com
"I have no interest in Trump TV," quoth Donald Trump, despite his son-in-law reportedly exploring funding options for such a venture. "I have no interest in Trump TV," Trump maintained, even though he has launched a YouTube channel literally called "Trump TV," featuring his own event coverage, commentators, and ads. And yet, "I have no interest in Trump TV," Trump said, although his closest campaign aides and allies are radio show hosts, TV personalities, and alt-right website editors.
But despite having no interest in Trump TV, it appears Trump already owns the domain name TrumpTelevision.com. The Republican nominee has been known to snatch up any potentially competitive web address ("IHateTrumpVodka.com"), and TrumpTelevision.com, like many others, was bought back in December 2012. It could just be another case of Trump covering his bases — as he said himself, "I have no interest in Trump TV."
Still, in the words of Trump's son, Eric Trump, "the collection of web addresses was part of a 'proactive' and 'very forward-looking domain strategy' intended to prevent critics and web squatters from adversely affecting the business," Yahoo News reports. "Based on Eric's comments, the company's ownership of TrumpTelevision.com suggests that Trump has considered a TV venture or that his company at least wanted to keep the option open."
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Trump does have a single interest, "and that's Nov. 8." But after that, if things don't go according to plan, he'll be all out of interests — and still have a few thousand potentially inspiring domain names on hand.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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