Donald Trump Has Started A New Website. Here's What We Know
Donald Trump hasn't launched his own social media platform yet, but he seems to be testing the waters with a shiny new website. Like Barack Obama's and George W. Bush's post-presidential pages, you can use Trump's to request greetings, appearances at events, or, you know, "share your thoughts." Unlike Obama's and Bush's legacy sites, Trump's looks suspiciously like a vehicle to continue fulfilling his catchy campaign slogan: as per his website, to advance "the America First agenda."
At the time of this writing, 45office.com has been live for around 24 hours. No need to ask. Twitter is gossiping. Some of its early visitors claimed via Tweet that Trump's website couldn't handle the traffic, and the eager might have "to try a couple times to get on it." Others have focused on its imagery. What's up with the picture, tweeted English comedian David Baddiel, "where ... Donald look[s] like Descartes, noting down in his journal his wise and insightful thoughts. Although I'm not sure that Rene ever used a sharpie."
This must be said. As far as photos go, Trump's website looks less like a tribute to a retired president and more like a platform for a politician ready to run again. While Obama's website's imagery is contemplative (Barack and Michelle looking at the Washington Monument) and Bush's website is free-time-oriented (Dubya and Laura at a ball game), Trump's is full of action shots: in a graveyard with troops, getting onto airforce one, and, yes, shaking hands with Kim Jong-un.
The stunning things that Trump's website leaves out
While Twitter is busy buzzing about Trump's choice of photos, the media has honed in on something else: that which is missing from the former president's website bio. In his typically hyperbolic rhetoric, Trump claims to have spearheaded "the most extraordinary political movement in history," "ushered in a period of unprecedented economic growth," and "achieved the most secure border in United States history." But, as The Guardian points out, 45office.com omits Trump's two impeachment trials, The Capitol riot, the worldwide financial crash due to COVID-19, or the unprecedented loss of lives in the United States that the virus caused. And while Trump boasts of increased border security on his webpage, Business Insider was quick to note that it fails to mention the border wall, of which the former president managed to build 80 of 1,000 promised miles.
The omissions are perhaps more noteworthy because Trump has indicated he may run for office again (via Politico). Meanwhile, as per TC Palm, select Republican Party websites across Florida insist that he is still president of the United States, in large part because he never formally conceded the 2020 election.