Following the inauguration of Donald Trump on Friday, all eyes are on the new President and the process of his transition, an ordeal which has already been the subject of close examination ever since Election Day. What particularly caught the attention of many on Friday was the removal of certain pages from the White House website, including those concerning climate change and LGBTQ rights. However, following protocol, those pages have simply been archived on the site of former President Barack Obama, and the White House site will now host Trump’s policies instead.
Of course, for those who were distressed at the misconception, the situation is hardly alleviated. The top issues listed on the updated site include “An American First Energy Plan” (in which the Climate Action Plan is deemed “harmful and unnecessary”), “Making Our Military Strong Again” and “Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community.” The LGBTQ community is not mentioned.
The law enforcement section bears the message that the “dangerous anti-police atmosphere in America is wrong,” but fails to address the roots of that apprehension toward police. The job of the Trump Administration is described as existing “not to make life more comfortable for the rioter, the looter, or the violent disrupter,” and, evidently, neither does it exist to acknowledge the epidemic of police brutality alive within this country, an issue that has been central to nationwide protest. One would think that upon acquiring the highest seat in American government, Donald Trump might at least concretely address one of the American people’s most urgent grievances — but apparently not.
President Trump’s extremely limited and all too convenient view of the status of civil rights in the United States was illuminated at the inauguration as well, when he said that “whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots, we all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American Flag.” Apparently, he forgot to warn beforehand that he was playing a game of two truths and a lie.
So, to come full circle, we need not fear the standard transition of White House website pages — the danger lies in the words therein.
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