Video taking off 15x its usual first day

Simon Marks: "Putin has played Trump like a violin"

His discussion with James O'Brien links Russian fuel supplies to the US midterms, drawing nearly half a million views in its first 15 hours.

Channel:

LBC Story of October 14, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 616,239 views a day, 15 times a normal first day on this channel (41,080).

'Putin has played Trump like a violin' | Simon Marks

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:25Marks links the possibility of Republican congressional losses to Trump's alignment with Putin.
3:06Russian diesel imports and Bessent's actions become part of Marks and O'Brien's examination of Ukraine diplomacy.
12:32In a CBS News clip, Bannon warns that a Democratic House would obstruct Trump's administration.
14:37Trump says Russia and Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire because he told them to agree.

Simon Marks sees Trump's dealings with Vladimir Putin as an election story as well as a diplomatic one. Joining James O'Brien on LBC, the Washington editor connects the prospect of Republicans losing Congress with the president's approach to Russia and Ukraine.

The discussion has already drawn far more views than an ordinary full first day for one of LBC's longer uploads. It follows the channel's interview in which Sir Richard Shirreff called Trump's diesel deal "treacherous," as we reported here. This time, Marks widens the argument from fuel supplies to the political pressures surrounding the White House.

"To see Putin, you know, absolutely play Trump again like a violin..." Marks says early in the segment. He goes on to examine Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's actions concerning Russian diesel imports and Trump's Ukraine diplomacy.

Later, a CBS News interview clip brings Steve Bannon into the discussion. Bannon warns that a Democratic House would seek to undermine Trump and leave his administration bogged down. The segment also shows Trump insisting that Russia and Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire because he told them to agree.

American politics is drawing attention elsewhere on LBC, too. Shelagh Fogarty and Jon Sopel's reaction to Katie Zacharia's first press briefing is starting unusually fast, alongside a shorter upload in which Marks questions how long she will remain White House press secretary.

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Where next?

Also in News networks and broadcastersVideo taking off 10x its usual first dayA Putin headline leads to Lavrov's "World War Three" claimTimes Now World's fast-starting broadcast attributes its central statement to Russia's foreign minister in the description, despite naming Putin in the title.Channel: Times Now World · Story of October 24, 2026

A different discovery todayVideo people are talking about 11x its usual commentsZelenskyy tells Steven Bartlett why he needed "ammunition, not a ride"In a nearly two-hour conversation, Ukraine's president moves from sleepless nights and grieving parents to Bucha, Paddington Bear and the morning the invasion …Channel: The Diary Of A CEO · Story of October 24, 2026

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The facts

Channel: LBC
Subscribers: 1,540,000 ▲ 10,000 this week
Channel views, last 7 days: 15,467,964
Channel views, pace per day: 2,791,906 (on a normal day: 1,878,756)
Video published: October 13, 2026
Video views so far: 494,076 (less than a day online)
Video views, pace per day: 616,239

The numbers

The Marks-O'Brien discussion is well beyond LBC's usual first-day audience. Both the longer reaction to Zacharia's briefing and the accompanying Short are also starting unusually fast.

the video's first day

usual first day here

41,080

this video

616,239

subscribers

1,540,000

▲ 10,000 in the last 7 days

total views

1,825,575,462

views per day

2,791,906