I launched POTUS Tracker during the Biden administration. Following President Biden's June 2024 debate performance, which raised concerns about his ability to govern, I recognized the need to provide the public with a clear and reliable tool to monitor presidential actions and travels in real time.

A key goal of POTUS Tracker is to combat misinformation. Delays in reporting and a lack of accessible information leave room for speculation and disinformation to spread. By delivering fast, accurate updates directly tied to official sources, the platform helps ensure people have the facts they need to stay informed and confirm what they see on social media.

This tracker provides a comprehensive overview of the President's activities, including significant engagements, and events, with an approximate location and timeline. It also monitors pending legislation and presidential actions. You can use the time slider to review events from the past 128 hours.

To receive notifications, install the POTUS Tracker as a web app on your device. You can do this by tapping the share button on your browser and adding POTUS Tracker to your home screen. Once installed, click the bell icon in the top right corner to enable notifications.

I rely on publicly available information, mainly the White House press pool and other media reports.

Most publicly notable events are updated live, but some may be delayed by hours for safety. The President's schedule can change quickly, so do not expect a sudden shift in plans to reflect on the site instantly.

In many cases, the location is intentionally generalized to maintain security. Some events may be approximated, meaning the marker will display over a large area rather than an exact pinpoint.

For safety reasons, some events may be held back until it's safe to release the information. Even if the information is publicly available, it may not be at a secure location or a matter of public interest. Personal events with minimal public interest are added retroactively, typically within 24 hours.

The Executive Actions & Legislation section includes all executive orders, which remain on the page for five days after they are signed. Additionally, all bills that have passed both the House and Senate will appear here. Occasionally, newsworthy bills may also be added to this section, even if they have not passed both houses.

Executive orders are instructions from the president to federal agencies, telling them how to enforce laws or take specific actions. Unlike an act of Congress, which creates or changes laws and requires approval from both the House and Senate, an executive order does not need approval from Congress. However, executive orders must still follow existing laws and can't create new ones.

These descriptions come directly from Congress.gov. While the language aims to be factual and neutral, the framing of legislative summaries can sometimes reflect the priorities or perspectives of the authors. For a well-rounded understanding, I recommend viewing multiple sources and viewpoints.

These descriptions are generated using ChatGPT 4o-mini as soon as the president publishes the text of the executive order. While the language strives to be factual and neutral, AI-generated summaries have some limitations. They may oversimplify complex language, miss important nuances, or reflect unintended biases in interpretation. For a comprehensive understanding, we recommend reviewing the full text of the executive order and consulting multiple sources.

Good question! You should always know where you're getting your news from. My name is Luke Wines, I'm a data and video journalist based out of Los Angeles, California. My other work and social media accounts can be found on my portfolio website.

You can reach me directly via email at [email protected].