President Donald Trump may have a tendency to put his name on everything, but his administration decided to go with the more official The White House app for its latest discovery. Now available on the App Store and Google Play Store, the official White House app claims to give Americans a “direct line to the White House.”
From the press release, the app offers “unfiltered, real-time upgrades straight from the source.” In more practical terms, the White House app is a one-stop shop for official communications from the administration and others. On the app, you can turn on notifications as well as find press releases, livestream announcements, and even a photo gallery so you get official communications as soon as they happen.
However, it only takes a few minutes of digging into the app to question its value. The News tab of the White House app features a carousel of about 35 articles that appear to be dubiously selected along with articles favorable to the Trump administration. In the affordability window, the app points to year-over-year price declines for things like eggs, milk and bread, but conveniently omits the recent increase in gas prices.
In the Social tab, there is a button to “Text President Trump”, which translates to “Greatest President of all time!” Auto-populates a new text with . Before ultimately trying to get you to sign up for a marketing blast. The press release describes a way to “send your voice and feedback directly to the administration”, but the app’s functionality does not promote this. Most notably, the Get in Touch section of the app also features a way to submit a tip to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Although it’s convenient to have all of your Trump administration announcements in one place, the White House app is mostly a portal that opens to external websites. Traditionally, official White House accounts on social media platforms broadcast during transitions of presidents. However, it’s hard to say what will happen to the app once Trump leaves office, but one only has to look at the enduring triumphs of TrumpRx, Trump Mobile or even Trump University.
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