Donald Trump was one of the most eccentric US Presidents we ever saw. Rarely have we heard such polarised opinions revolving around any National Head. But, Mr.Trump’s legacy runs deep as he is still discussed among his critics and supporters alike.
A report by MSN has pointed out the difference between the approach of the Trump and Biden administration towards the approval of .gov domain names. As far as responses to .gov requests are considered, the approach has been in line with the party’s ideology. While Mr. Trump had been Conservative towards approving domain names, Mr. Biden has been fairly Liberal.
Mr. Trump had received 105 requests for .gov domain names, out of which 60 were accepted, 44 were denied while 1 was left pending. This was an approval rate of 57.14% and rejection rate of 41.9%.
On the other hand the Biden Administration received 95 requests for .gov domains. Out of this 85 were accepted, 4 rejected while 6 requests were withdrawn voluntarily. This is an approval rate of 88.42% and rejection rate of 4.21%.
You can see each request and their decisions here. Notice the pattern before and after January 21, the day Mr. Biden assumed the presidential office. You can easily see the frequency of ‘Approved’ increasing past the mentioned date.
So, what’s the reason behind the different approach towards approving these domain names? The answer lies behind the intent for assuming offices for both the personalities. Mr. Trump came to power to change things, breaking the perceived inertia of the US in asserting its power both outside and inside the US. He had come to ‘Make America Great Again’.
Mr. Biden on the other hand received the mandate to do exactly the opposite. The mandate in favour of Mr. Biden was to undo the apparent wrongs that had happened during Mr.Trump’s administration. He received the mandate for a more gentle and kind America, rather than the assertive approach acquired by Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump’s excessive desire to change the American System often kept him at odds with the Federal Institutions. The very same institutions then sought approvals for .gov domains from him. It was perhaps a true Trumpian response to reject those requests.
However, some of the domain name requests rejected by the former President do evoke concern. Requests rejected by Mr. Trump’s administration include HumanTrafficking.gov, ReportFraud.gov, Telehealth.gov, FindShelters.gov, Biotechnology.gov and FiscalData.gov. These domain requests focussed on issues like Human Trafficking, Fraud, Health, Homelessness, Science and Fiscal Data. A reliable .gov domain name assisting these major issues would have been tremendously beneficial for the public.
When such situations arose, many Government entities then instead of registering unique Second Level Domains, switched to easily available Third Level Domains. For example, when the request for ReportFraud.gov was denied, an alternate domain name of ReportFraud.FTC.gov was chosen.
In fact, Mr. Biden could register his .gov domain name, only after ascending the office. Before his Presidency he had been using one of the domain names by Google. After the elections the domain name BuildBackBetter.gov was registered.
A .gov domain name is not like any other Top Level Domain (TLD). The extension is accorded only to Government entities. Hence, the domain name has an attached sense of reliability, safety and security. This is the reason why Government entities want a short and on point .gov domain name, so that they can deliver their message and services in an efficient manner.
Join the Discussion