Donald Trump Has Released His First Presidential Message On YouTube

After weeks of limited public appearances following his election to the highest office, President-Elect Donald Trump released a video on YouTube Monday night to update the American public on how his transition efforts are going.

Surprisingly, Trump avoided much of the controversial rhetoric that won him the presidency in his first presidential message. Instead, he focused on how he would make America great again by “putting America first.”

“Whether it’s producing steel, building cars or curing disease,” Trump said to the camera. “I want the next generation of production and innovation to happen right here, in our great homeland, America, creating wealth and jobs for American workers.”

Trump’s priorities for his first months as president included withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, eradicating visa and immigration abuse, removing some energy restrictions and imposing a five-year ban on lobbying.

Notably missing from his online address to the American people were his other famous (or infamous) promises. He didn’t mention a temporary ban on Muslims, the wall between the U.S. and Mexico or prosecuting Hillary Clinton. (Trump's former campaign magnager Kellyanne Conway said Tuesday that Trump will not attempt to prosecute Clinton.)

The two-and-a-half-minute clip, which The New York Times described as an “infomercial-style video,” completely skipped over traditional news outlets or a press conference, opting for social media instead. Trump’s turn to YouTube came directly after he met with top TV executives and anchors Monday afternoon. According to Variety, he scolded many networks about “unfair” campaign coverage and attempted to “re-set” his media relations.

Ari Fleischer, George W. Bush’s former press secretary, speculated to the Times that Trump delivering his message directly through YouTube is likely a continuation of Obama’s utilization of social media. However, Fleischer said skipping over news outlets 15 years ago would have been seen as propaganda. Trump has also abstained from have a press “pool” follow him and his family around post-election, which is incredibly unusual for a president-elect.

According to Mashable, Trump promised to share even more updates on the Transition 2017 YouTube channel within the next week. Instead of tuning into the evening news or grabbing a newspaper, maybe we should all be watching out for our future POTUS and his presidential messages online.