The push alerts of the first 100 days of the Trump administration

The Associated Press recently conducted a comprehensive analysis of push alerts sent during the first 100 days of the Trump administration, providing a unique window into how breaking news about presidential actions was delivered directly to Americans’ smartphones.

From January 20th through April 29th, the AP methodically tracked all notifications sent through its mobile app, creating a digital archive that captures the rapid-fire pace of early Trump administration activities. These instant alerts serve as a real-time chronicle of executive orders, policy announcements, and reactions that defined the administration’s initial months in office.

To conduct the analysis, researchers implemented sophisticated data processing techniques. The collected alerts were processed through the BAAI general embedding model to convert text into numerical vectors, allowing for mathematical analysis of content similarities. Using FAISS index technology, the team performed similarity searches with boosted weighting for terms like “Trump” and “U.S. government” to identify relevant notifications.

The methodology established a similarity score threshold of 0.4, though researchers also manually reviewed all alerts to ensure comprehensive coverage. This careful approach led to the inclusion of 35 additional alerts that narrowly missed the algorithmic threshold but contained substantive information about administration activities.

Beyond mere collection, the AP team developed a detailed classification system for the alerts. Each notification was categorized by whether it represented an action or reaction, its originating source, and its subject matter. This taxonomic approach enables deeper analysis of communication patterns during this crucial period of governance. For instance, statements by President Trump that had tangible effects, such as tariff postponements, were specifically classified as “administrative action.”

This project reflects the growing importance of mobile notifications as primary news delivery mechanisms for millions of Americans. In an era of information overload, these brief alerts often represent the first—and sometimes only—exposure many citizens have to major political developments. By documenting and analyzing these notifications, the AP provides insight into how breaking presidential news reaches the public consciousness.

The resulting dataset serves as both a historical record and analytical tool for understanding the early Trump presidency. For researchers, journalists, and citizens interested in presidential communications, this collection offers a unique lens through which to view the administration’s policy priorities and messaging strategies during its formative period.

The AP News app, through which these alerts were delivered, continues to serve as a primary channel for delivering breaking news directly to consumers’ devices. The methodology developed for this analysis could potentially be applied to other administrations or news categories, creating comparative datasets that illuminate how different types of news are prioritized and framed in the alerts that increasingly shape public perception.

As mobile news consumption continues to grow, understanding the content, frequency, and framing of these immediate notifications becomes increasingly important for evaluating how Americans learn about presidential actions in real time.