North Lawn Live

About the piece

Donald Trump's face is the sun. It crosses the sky above the White House once, over four years and a day — the exact length of his second term.

One clock

The whole thing runs off one number: how much of the term is done. The sun's position, the sky, the day counts and the two little birds all follow it. No controls, no clicks, no cookies.

Live headlines

Every ten minutes the site pulls fresh Trump headlines from five sources: The Guardian, Google News (two searches), Fox News, and The New York Times. Only headlines with clear emotional language make it in — the exact wording lands in the thought bubble, nothing is invented, stored or rewritten.

Nine faces

A small vocabulary decides the sun's mood. Words like slams, soars, stuns and warns swap his face to match. When nothing dramatic is happening, he wears his default face (smug, obviously).

The pigeons

Two pigeons perch on the signposts. Every so often one loses patience, beats its wings, and blasts a campaign slogan into the grass. When the term ends they turn their backs on each other, do it one more time, and go.

The end

The sun sinks over the final weeks. Fireworks at midnight.

Credits

Headlines from The Guardian, Google News and The New York Times. Built by Joseph Griffin.