White House, NARA must ensure Trump’s deleted Truth Social posts are preserved

The White House and National Archives and Records Administration are legally required to preserve and prevent the destruction of President Trump’s Truth Social posts, including a now-deleted video posted from his account about debunked 2020 election fraud claims that included racist images depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes, according to a letter CREW sent to the White House and NARA. 

The Presidential Records Act (PRA) requires the president and his staff to document, preserve and maintain records of “the activities, deliberations, decisions, and policies that reflect the performance of the president’s constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties.” Since returning to the White House, President Trump has repeatedly used his personal Truth Social account to conduct government business. The video in question depicted conspiracy theories about alleged election fraud in Georgia—a significant priority for the Trump administration. The president continues to threaten to nationalize elections, and last month, federal agents seized ballots and election equipment in Fulton County, Georgia. 

Following bipartisan criticism of the racist depictions of the Obamas, staff removed the video from President Trump’s Truth Social page. However, the PRA demands preservation of a record of this post and any others like it so that the public and future generations can accurately understand the policy decisions and influences of the Trump presidency. The racism featured in the video does not exempt it from that law. While the White House may want to bury the video’s depictions as posted to President Trump’s public Truth Social account and move on, it cannot be fully deleted and must be preserved.

“There is no racism exception to the PRA,” said CREW President Donald Sherman. “As much as the Trump administration may want everyone to disregard and forget what President Trump posted, the law demands the very opposite. Current and future generations deserve an accurate record of the Trump White House, its election sabotage policies and its racism too.”

Throughout his first term in office, President Trump and other White House officials demonstrated a serious disregard for their recordkeeping responsibilities under the PRA. Trump’s continued disregard for transparency, oversight and laws that don’t suit his agenda make it all the more urgent for the White House Counsel’s Office to review the removal of the video post and ensure that post is preserved. NARA must also perform its duty to ensure that the White House is preserving records in accordance with the law.