At the moment the presidency was transferred to Donald Trump from Barack Obama, a digital transfer of power also took place online: the White House website was dramatically reorganized on Friday, to emphasize the incoming administration’s priorities.
Just a couple of minutes after Trump was sworn in, Obama’s policies were moved to an archival website and promptly replaced with a new slate of priorities, which drastically underscored the differences between the two men’s administrations.
Where Obama’s White House website housed information on civil rights, climate change, LGBT rights, healthcare, immigration, education and the “Iran Deal” among others, Trump’s White House website, instead, lists just six “issues”.
“America first energy plan” has replaced climate change as a priority, while “Bringing back jobs and growth” focuses on lowering taxes. Civil rights has been replaced with “Standing up with our law enforcement community” and emphasizes the “lawlessness” of illegal immigration and inner cities.
The White House website spells out a bit more of what the incoming administration means by an “America first foreign policy”. The phrase used is “peace through strength” which involves a pledge to “rebuild the American military”.
The online statement notes that the US navy has shrunk from 500 to 275 ships over the past 15 years and that the air force has been reduced by a third over the same period. It pledges that the new president “is committed to reversing this trend, because he knows that our military dominance must be unquestioned”.
The statement avoids stating goals however. For example, there is no repeat of the campaign pledge to boost the navy to 350 ships.
Defeating the Islamic State and other “radical Islamic terror groups” is named as the first foreign policy priority, which will be achieved through “joint and coalition military operations”, working with international partners to cut off funding, expanded intelligence sharing, and offensive cyberwarfare targeted on terrorist propaganda and recruiting. There is talk of allies being welcome, but nothing specific about upholding existing alliances like Nato.
On trade, the issue titled “Trade Deals Working For All Americans”, there is a pledge to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but withdrawal from the North American Free Trade Area is held off for the time being, pending renegotiation. The website statement warns: “If our partners refuse a renegotiation that gives American workers a fair deal, then the President will give notice of the United States’ intent to withdraw from NAFTA.”
Then and now pic.twitter.com/qiVwzsnHZV
— Alissa Walker (@awalkerinLA) January 20, 2017
In another move undertaken immediately after the transfer of power, the men also updated their respective Twitter accounts. Now, the @POTUS handle belongs to Trump (who at the time of this writing, had yet to tweet), and Obama moved his social media and all previous tweets to @POTUS44.
