Donald Trump’s page on US State Department website changed to show his term ending early

US media reports that the changes, which were also seen on Vice-President Mike Pence’s biography, were made by a ‘disgruntled employee’

The website breach occurred around the same time that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Voice of America should cover the US more favourably

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US President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Georgia on January 4. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:54am, 12 Jan 2021Updated: 8:06am, 12 Jan 2021

The profile pages for President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence on the US State Department‘s website were briefly updated on Monday to say that their terms were ending on January 11, nine days ahead of schedule, in an apparent hack.

BuzzFeed News and journalist Hugo Longwell both reported that updates showing that Pence’s term would end on January 11 at 7.44pm Washington time and Trump’s ending five minutes later were made by a “disgruntled employee”.

Within minutes of the hack, news of which was amplified on social media, the pages returned 404 errors with the message: “We’re sorry, this site is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Please try again in a few moments.”

The website breach occurred around the same time that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was delivering remarks at the Washington headquarters of the US-funded broadcaster Voice of America (VOA).

A screenshot from Donald Trump's biography page on the US State Department website on Monday.

Along with a repeat of comments he often makes about the threat that the Chinese government poses to the US, Pompeo’s remarks also included the need for more favourable coverage about the US by the VOA and a swipe at Twitter, Facebook and Apple, which recently took steps to block Trump, and Parler, a social media platform dominated by conservative viewpoints.