The page has since been removed after garnering widespread attention on social media. The US State Department’s website briefly declared that President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence’s terms had ended days before they actually did. The screenshot of the page that linked to Trump’s biography has since been widely shared on social media and there have been plenty of memes in response.
The department’s biography page for the President displayed a single line: “Donald J. Trump’s term ended on 2021-01-11 19:40:07.” The page for Pence showed a similar message: “Michael R. Pence’s term ended on 2021-01-11 19:45:15.” Their terms actually expire on January 20.
The change that was noticed by some journalists quickly gained a lot of attention on social media with people wondering if it was a glitch or the result of hackers.
Hey, @StateDept, what do you know that the rest of us don't?
"Donald J. Trump's term ended on 2021-01-11 19:49:00." pic.twitter.com/Ntl1BSqsb9
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) January 11, 2021
BREAKING NEWS: Official U.S. State Department Website Inexplicably Says Donald Trump's Presidency "Ended" at 7:49 PM Tonight (January 11); No Explanation Yet for Bizarre Website Edit pic.twitter.com/1GeiNEToiE
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) January 11, 2021
As the screenshots were widely shared on social media, the pages were taken down and were replaced with a message that said, “We’re sorry, this site is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Please try again in a few moments.”
Whoops. Looks like State Dept took it down. "404"
Here's what Trump's bio page looks like this right now: pic.twitter.com/Hs363cqLde
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) January 11, 2021
CNN later reported that a “disgruntled State Department employee” was behind bizarre changes to the website. The report said that the early stages of an internal investigation suggest “the changes appear to have been made by an upset staffer, but is unclear who it was or what caused their anger.”
Here’s how people reacted to the incident on social media:
This is…interesting.
The @StateDept website says Donald Trump's term ended today. pic.twitter.com/0VHmbpddTS
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) January 11, 2021
I guess he really was the Twitter President (according to the @StateDept!)
"Donald J. Trump's term ended on 2021-01-11 19:40:41." pic.twitter.com/MSH7iHFPXy
— Chris Messina (@chrismessina) January 11, 2021
😆 suuuuch a clever hack!! Kudos to whomever pulled this off! 😝
— Stephen A. Boyd, Ph.D. (@StephenABoydPh1) January 11, 2021
Thats the truth glad it was fixed😆😆
— Kelly (@mrhismissed) January 11, 2021
— Nibel (@Nibellion) January 11, 2021
whoa what is happening with the state department website pic.twitter.com/d42ZSwVEHL
— Molly Starr (@mollyann_e) January 11, 2021
me to state department website pic.twitter.com/RJBJkoRaeA
— rat king (@MikeIsaac) January 11, 2021
Our group chat trying to figure out why Trump's term is listed as "ended on 2021-01-11 19:40:04" on the Dept of State Website: pic.twitter.com/CujshPCOUZ
— Angélica César (@angelicacesar) January 11, 2021
State Department webmaster reveal yourself, wizard
— Sarah Rose (@thesarahrose) January 13, 2021
The State Department staffer who changed Trumps presidential end date pic.twitter.com/QD6TcWSLsw
— Designated Dan (@Designated_Dan) January 11, 2021
the password to the Department of State's CMS… is love pic.twitter.com/9THFG5f0ls
— Daniel D'Addario (@DPD_) January 11, 2021
BREAKING: Jason Derulo has fallen down the stairs of the state department’s website pic.twitter.com/fZlIRJ4lu3
— lex (@PARTYLEXDOOR) January 11, 2021
…and now to check in on the State Department webmaster pic.twitter.com/3fUaVikvXv
— Corey J Brewer (@CoreyJBrewer) January 11, 2021
disgruntled staffer changing the state department’s website pic.twitter.com/l7ROUBhD19
— blaire erskine (@blaireerskine) January 11, 2021
BREAKING: The State Department has identified the federal employee responsible for the hack pic.twitter.com/jciGtDnvsr
— KnowNOthing (@KnowNothingTV) January 11, 2021
The social media manager who hacked the state department pic.twitter.com/7QlrWEDG52
— Nico Correia (@notn1co) January 11, 2021
The State Department social media manager deciding to end the Trump presidency: pic.twitter.com/G3jYWhWYIh
— Sam Stryker (@sbstryker) January 11, 2021
Random #StateDepartment employee: pic.twitter.com/YmmPverio3
— Typically Thomas (@ThomasBunink) January 11, 2021
Okay, but what does this “disgruntled staffer” know that we don’t? 👀 pic.twitter.com/w8SEzcuD2f
— Adam Griffin (@adamj_griff) January 11, 2021
Our message to the "disgruntled staffer at the State Department" pic.twitter.com/POgx2efR91
— Enough Wicker Podcast (@EnoughWicker) January 11, 2021
The slip-up comes as the US House of Representatives is expected to begin considering a second impeachment of Trump on Wednesday over the Capitol Hill siege.
