Introduction to Transparency
The Trump White House, which claims to be the "most transparent" administration in history, has made a significant change to its official transcripts. The database that documents President Donald Trump’s announcements and phenomena has been removed.
Removal of Transcripts
The "Comments" section of the White House website now offers YouTube videos instead of the transcripts that were previously published. This change is another example of the Trump administration’s efforts to exercise more control over the information that is released to the public. Instead of printing every transcript, which creates a comprehensive record for the public, some events are published while others are skipped.
Incomplete Record
The selection of "comments" videos is noticeably incomplete, containing less than 50 Trump videos from the first 120 days of his second term. In contrast, the White House publishes a much larger number of videos on YouTube, including high-party attacks and propaganda mashups.
Impact on Journalists and Researchers
The removal of transcripts affects journalists and researchers more than the average taxpayer. The text-based records of a president’s words are valuable for holding an administration accountable. The transcript track is still quite meaningful, and its absence makes the existence of external databases like Roll Call’s Factba.se all the more valuable.
Priorities of the Administration
The disappearing Trump transcripts reveal the priorities of the administration and what the White House means by "transparency." Perhaps "view" is the more precise word, as the Trump White House prioritizes videos and photos over the written word. Trump’s bombastic and improvised speech style requires strong examination and factual examination, but he often seems to take care of pictures, especially those of strength and dominance.
Response to Criticism
In response to criticism, the White House claims that the president’s comments are live-streamed on the website for everyone to access and observe. However, the transcript track is still meaningful, and its absence is notable. The founder and developer of Factba.se, Bill Frischling, said that the step certainly underlines the reason for a free and independent recording of the President’s statements and answers.
Disregard for Stenographers
The removal of transcripts also shows Trump’s disregard for the White House stenographers, a dynamic that was described by former stenographer Beck Dorey-Stein in 2018. Dorey-Stein wrote that Trump likes to call someone who does not agree with him "fake news," but if he really is the victim of inaccurate reporting, why is he so averse to having the facts recorded and transcribed?
