How To View Old White House Web Pages

If you're a progressive, it's possible that the first 11 days of the Trump administration have sent a jolt through your system, what with the disorienting speed with which things are moving. In fact, it almost feels as though former president Barack Obama left the presidency ages ago. And it's also true that the official White House website has changed a lot, leading some people to wish they could compare it to the old one. Well, you can indeed visit Obama's old White House website, because the whole thing remains archived online.

In fact, the websites for all four internet-age administrations ― Clinton, Bush, Obama, and now Trump ― can be viewed, with the three now-defunct ones being preserved for history. In fact, if you check out the Clinton administration's first website archive, it's more than a little funny-looking by today's standards. Let's just say web design has come a long way since 1995.

You can find links to all of the previous administration's online sites here, at the website of the National Archives, which hosts all of them. Last on the list was the final snapshot they took of the Obama administration's iteration of whitehouse.gov, which gave way to the Trump administration's on Jan. 20.

So if you're in the mood to travel back in time a couple of weeks, here's your chance. The new Trump administration website has stoked controversy since he took over, owing to the disappearance of information about certain issues of huge importance that are more prioritized in progressive circles ― issues like climate change, as a high-profile example. While the previous administration's website contained extensive information about the scientific facts and consensus around climate change, as well as policy ideas aimed at mitigating it, the current Trump administration cite makes no such effort.

In fact, the pages under the "issues" tab don't even mention it, only referring to the climate by way of promising to undo the climate-related drilling ban Obama implemented in his final days in office. When Obama left office, his listed "top issues" were as follows:

• Civil Rights
• Climate Change
• Economy
• Education
• Foreign Policy
• Health Care
• Iran Deal
• Immigration Action

Compare that to the currently listed top issues on Trump's site, and the difference in both style and priorities becomes pretty clear:

• America First Energy Plan
• America First Foreign Policy
• Bringing Back Jobs And Growth
• Making Our Military Strong Again
• Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community
• Trade Deals That Work For All Americans

In short, a lot less simple, anodyne descriptions of key issues in American life, and a lot more "America First." Needless to say, if you're a progressive, the first list probably makes you feel a tremendous amount of nostalgia for the previous administration ― back when, one might say, the adults were in charge. And if you're a Trump supporter, perhaps the brashness and bombast of the second list is more your style.

The Trump website also drew criticism and confusion for leaving the judiciary off its list of the branches of government -- an absence that became all the more controversial after Trump fired former acting Attorney General Sally Yates on Monday night over her refusal to legally defend his Muslim ban executive order. As of this writing, however, the judicial branch has been added back to the website.