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Disgruntled worker changes State Dept website to say Trump’s term ends Jan 11, 10 best reactions: 'No Backsies'

Mike Pompeo has ordered an internal investigation into the matter, beginning with interns and employees leaving the State Department this week and next ahead of the transition to the Biden administration

On Monday, January 11, the State Department website reflected updated biographies of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. They said their term was coming to an end on Monday, nine days before President-elect Joe Biden is to be sworn in. Speaking to BuzzFeed News, two current-serving diplomats said that the changes were made by a disgruntled employee at the State Department.

The president’s biography was changed to read, “Donald J. Trump's term ended on 2021-01-11 19:49:00,” while the vice president’s biography was edited to “Michael R. Pence's term ended on 2021-01-11 19:44:22.” The time stamp on Trump's page changed multiple times before both pages were removed around 3:50 p.m. ET. The following message appeared on the website then: "We’re sorry, this site is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Please try again in a few moments."

This comes days after pro-Trump men and women staged an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. One of the diplomats told BuzzFeed News that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has ordered an internal investigation into the matter, beginning with interns and employees leaving the State Department this week and next ahead of the transition to the Biden administration. Both diplomats, however, said that the investigation could be challenging, considering how many people have administrative access to the content management system used for the State Department’s official website. They both said that this was not a hack. 

Rising dissent in the State Department

On January 9, Foreign Policy Magazine reported that career officials at the State Department filed a dissent cable condemning Trump for inciting the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol, urging top administration officials to consider invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office.

The cable criticized Pompeo for his “failure to issue a statement unequivocally acknowledging that President-Elect Biden won the 2020 election” and protested the “President’s incitement of insurrectionist violence against the United States.” Reportedly, 175 State Department officials had signed it. 

How people reacted

The temporary changes to the State Department website initially registered some concern online. But as it became clear that it was not a hack, the reactions changed to that of hilarity. “What I have to say to the State Department is No Backsies,” wrote filmmaker Jeremy Newberger on Twitter. “If the State Department website says you resigned, then you're no longer president, I do not make the rules,” wrote cartoonist Dan Perkins, who goes by the pen name Tom Tomorrow. Journalist Philip Lewis wrote, “Today is the day the State Department website became president.”

“It's very telling that Donald Trump has not tweeted to clarify the State Department website announcement,” joked filmmaker Zack Bornstein about Trump’s permanent ban from not just Twitter but several other social media sites. Another Twitter user said, “The State Department called it. Computer glitch or not, he’s gotta go. No givebacks.” Actor Jeffrey Wright of ‘Westworld’ fame said, “Half the planet just went to the State Department website then checked their watch.” One Twitter user shared a meme video with the caption: “Live footage of the State Department staffer ending Donald Trump’s presidential term today.”

“The state department woke up and chose chaos,” wrote a Twitter user. One Twitter user shared a photo of Barron Trump wearing a “The Expert” t-shirt, saying, “BREAKING: The State Department has identified the federal employee responsible for the hack.” Another Twitter user joked: “I'm a web developer and what is going on at the state department is not cute, or funny. Web pages only act like this when they are very distressed.”