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Politics

11th Jan 2021

US government website says Trump’s presidency ends this evening

A US Government website says Donald Trump's presidency ends at 19:49pm ET this evening. Sources say a "disgruntled staffer" is behind the edit

Alex Roberts

Sources say a “disgruntled staffer” is behind the edit

In a bizarre series of events, a US Government website says Donald Trump’s presidency ends at 19:49pm ET this evening.

Journalist Seth Abramson uncovered the message when he accessed the US State Department website at 15:02pm ET today (20:02pm GMT).

Underneath Trump’s biography page, a message reads: “Donald J. Trump’s term ended on 2021-01-11 at 19:49:00.”

Abramson described the development as a “bizarre website edit”.

On closer inspection, it also became apparent that a similar edit had been made to the page of Mike Pence, incumbent Vice President. This edit claims Pence’s term ends at 19:41pm ET.

According to BuzzFeed, a “disgruntled staffer” is behind the bizarre website edits.

A US government source told BuzzFeed that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would be launching an investigation after Trump and Pence’s biographies were edited on Monday afternoon.

The strange website edits come just a matter of days after Pro-Trump insurrectionists stormed the US Capitol in Washington DC, attacking police and attempting to overthrow Congress.

Many people believe Trump incited the violence, as it succeeded his ‘Stop The Steal’ rally held outside the Capitol building.

A number of Democrats have begun filing impeachment processes against Trump, and there have also been renewed calls for Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment. This would see President Trump ousted from office.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is one such person that believes Trump instigated violence at the US Capitol.

He said: “President Trump sought to overturn the results of an election, and of a fair election.

“He sought a coup by misleading people with lies.”

Trump refused to accept Joe Biden as the presidential election’s projected winner on November 7th, and has constantly referred to the election as “fraudulent”.

No evidence of this has ever been proven, but Trump persisted with the claim in speeches before and after violence at the Capitol building.

Those involved in the attempted coup undermined democracy and the fundamental principles underpinning the United States, according to Schwarzenegger.

“The broken glass was in the windows of the United States Capitol, but the mob did not just shatter the windows of the Capitol. They shattered the ideas we took for granted.

“They did not just break down the doors of the building of American democracy. They trampled the very principles on which our country was founded.”