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Trump Trades in Android Phone For Secret Service-Approved Device (cnet.com)

Who's got two thumbs and a Secret Service-approved phone to tweet from? On arriving in Washington on Thursday ahead of his inauguration, Donald Trump has handed in his Android device in exchange for an unidentified locked-down phone, according to Associated Press. From a report: The phone comes with a new number that is known only to a limited number of people. This marks a big change for Trump, who's frequently on the line with friends, business contacts, reporters, foreign leaders and politicians. Barack Obama was the first president to use a mobile device approved by security agencies because of hacking concerns. Initially he had a heavily modified BlackBerry and later switched to another phone that had most features totally disabled. He was not known to use it for making or receiving calls, but it was one of few devices that had access to the @POTUS Twitter account.

13 of 206 comments (clear)

  1. Re: If they're smart... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Last day to bash Trump! Then he will deport you.

  2. Please... by Kierthos · · Score: 5, Insightful

    tell me the phone somehow has Twitter blocked entirely.

    --
    Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
  3. Re:If they're smart... by GerardAtJob · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm not even a USA citizen, and I feel like you since
    - he did nothing yet
    - he was elected.

    Perhaps you'll see me hate him in a few weeks, but not yet lol

    --
    I can't call that English ;-)
  4. Not starting OS wars.. but by guacamole · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I am personally glad our new president wasn't part of the iSheep sect.

  5. Re:Reasonable and boring. by guacamole · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Let's face it. Your argument is kinda weak because every president elect has always been the world's biggest target regardless of how much of the popular vote the pres won (for the curious, the presidential candidates must always spend resources to optimize their electoral college votes because that's what counts, unlike the useless popular vote). The president's smartphone is always locked down and provided by the government IT specialists regardless of what his previous preferences were. Just last year, when the Samsung Galaxy S7 was "the thing", Obama was handed a "locked down" Galaxy S4 because this is how it works. The commander in chief must always be using a tested and locked down device.

  6. Re:If they're smart... by kilfarsnar · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yeah Trump's just SO STUPID!

    You are SO ORIGINAL with that zinger! Damn, are you up for a Pulitzer?

    Incidentally, if he's so stupid, how come Hillary isn't being inaugurated today?

    I don't think he's stupid at all. I just think he's a boor and a con man.

    --
    "What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
  7. Re:If they're smart... by Notabadguy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yes...yes he is. And his opponent wasn't a boring public servant. She's a traitor, a habitual liar, incompetent, self-serving, and saggy-boobs deep in pay-for-play.

    Think on that. We elected an IDIOT because he's better than the alternative. If he gets our soldiers killed or sells us out, it'll be because he's dumb and incompetent, not because he's sleazy and malicious.

    At least with him, there's a chance.

  8. Re:If they're smart... by Mycroft-X · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm not even a USA citizen, and I feel like you since
    - he did nothing yet
    - he was elected.

    One Nobel Peace Prize, coming right up!

  9. Android? by DesertBlade · · Score: 4, Funny

    I thought only people who couldn't afford to use iPhone purchase Android.

    --
    Half of writing history is hiding the truth.
  10. Re: If they're smart... by Mashiki · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Because his supports have an IQ of a retarded ferret?

    You'd think that after ~15-17 years of identity politics, labeling people as "racists, nazis, retards, bigots, sexists, etc, etc, etc" that the left would learn something. Seems to be a NOPE on that one. And it's only cost them in the US ~1200 seats of power. It's only cost them brexit. It's likely going to cost them Germany and France too. And with the shit that Trudeau and leftists are now pulling in Canada? I wouldn't be surprised if we see the death of the Liberal Party within the next 5 years. And I'll bet that instead of being introspective, people on the left are gonna double down. Just like the democrats in the US are, just like political parties, and media are in the US and Europe.

    Just a FYI: The left are overrun with extremists. Whether it be people who claim they're anti-racists being racists, claiming to be anti-bigots, while engaging in bigotry. Engaging in general shitty behavior that enables a literal cultural desert because "cultural appropriation." Engaging in sexist or anti-sexual liberation ideologies. It doesn't matter. You are, where the right was ~25 years ago, when you were out there screaming about the "crazy religious right-wing nuts." Get rid of the crazies, dump the identity politics. In short: Get your shit in order.

    --
    Om, nomnomnom...
  11. Re:If they're smart... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Incidentally, if he's so stupid, how come Hillary isn't being inaugurated today?

    Partly because when SHE had the opportunity to hand in HER phone for a government one, she refused. Which I find hilarious.

    The major reason I knew I, personally, could never vote for her was when (via leaked emails) it became clear that the reason she was mad at government IT and decided to use her own email server was because they wouldn't let her use her phone inside a SCIF. A SCIF is a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. The entire point to it is that it's safe from eavesdropping, and therefore is shielded from cell reception (or any kind of reception - it's basically a giant Faraday cage).

    And Clinton was trying to force them to let her use her personal phone inside of it.

    The actual reason she lost, her complete lack of touch with workers, is just gravy. But the fact that she was the type of over-demanding "VP of marketing" type who demanded IT completely ignore security was enough to make me hate her, ignoring the mountain of other reasons. And, of course, her complete disdain for security practices and those who set them up and enforce them then came back to bite her in the ass when her campaign's email was hacked, multiple times. So that was nice too.

    Am I happy we wound up with Trump? No. That's a problem in the Primaries process, where other, better candidates were weeded out because despite the fact that the majority of the GOP hates Trump, they weren't able to settle on a single candidate. In a proper voting system like IRV, Trump never would have won the nomination. Am I happier that the harpy will never see the White House? Hell yes!

  12. Re:If they're smart... by GerardAtJob · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That's not him, but all the FUD created by medias lol.
    Country was already divided, since it's voters that votes, not Trump.
    All I just wanna say is -> wait and see! If he does bad, then protest all you want and kick he's sorry ass out of there, but please wait to see what he's going to do, and how.

    We, in Canada, got one interesting guy which love to selfy and every media ""loved"" him... we're stacking record debt since then...
    I guess many US and worldwide big shots are just playing with all your minds via media. Just calm down, wait and see for yourself.

    TDLR : Don't "think emotionally".

    --
    I can't call that English ;-)
  13. Bizarro World by sjbe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's sort of ironic that you call Trump a xenophobe while the entire Democrat and press establishment go on a witchhunt for foreigners that makes Mccarthyism look like Mr. Rogers.

    I'm curious what the sky looks like in the Bizarro World that republicans appear to inhabit where they actually believe this sort of crap. Tribalism at its finest people...

    Trump's xenophobic actions and statements stand on their own. If you don't recognize him for the reprehensible human being he is then I'm not sure what I can do to help you. The best arguments against Donald Trump come right out of his own unfiltered mouth. He's on the record endorsing torture, denigrating women, opposing reproductive rights, calling for mass deportations,endorsing trade wars, cutting taxes on the richest but not the poor, removing health care from millions without a plan to replace it, supporting religious bigotry, and a whole lot more.