White House purges transcripts of Trump's remarks from its website

The White House has made a significant change to its online record of President Donald Trump’s public remarks by removing official transcripts from its government website, replacing them with selected videos of his public appearances.

Until recently, transcripts of Trump’s speeches and comments were available in the “Remarks” section of WhiteHouse.gov. However, as of May 19, these transcripts were removed, with the exception of Trump’s inaugural address on January 20. The White House official website now features only audio and video recordings of his remarks, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

A White House official explained that the decision to remove the transcripts was part of an internal policy change aimed at providing a more complete and accurate representation of Trump’s public comments. "The idea behind the move is that people will get a fuller and more accurate sense of Trump by watching and listening to him as opposed to reading a transcript, which they may not be inclined to do anyway," the official said. "In an effort to maintain consistency, previous transcripts that were available have been removed and replaced with the audio and visual components of that transcript."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the change, saying: "The president’s remarks are live on the website for every person in the world, including journalists, to access and watch for themselves. The Trump White House is the most transparent in history."

Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance’s office continues to release official transcripts of his remarks to the media. Since last month, Vance’s office has shared several transcripts, including those of his discussions on US manufacturing and the war between Russia and Ukraine. Vance’s office did not comment on why it continues to release transcripts while Trump’s office does not.

Historians and former White House officials criticized the removal of transcripts, which have traditionally served as the official and historical record of presidential statements. Barbara Perry, co-chair of the presidential oral history program at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, expressed concern, saying, "I hope he and his communications team see the light on this.”

A public transcript also provides some protection for Trump if he feels misquoted or misunderstood. He can point to the document to settle the issue. Transcripts coming out of the White House have at times become points of contention.

By Vafa Guliyeva