President Gets His Own Twitter Account: 'It's Barack. Really'
"Hello Twitter! It's Barack. Really." And with that, President Obama became part of the Twitterverse. The White House announced Monday that @POTUS would be "the official Twitter account of the President of the United States."
Hello, Twitter! It's Barack. Really! Six years in, they're finally giving me my own account.
— President Obama (@POTUS) May 18, 2015
According to a post on The White House Blog:
"The @POTUS Twitter account will serve as a new way for President Obama to engage directly with the American people, with tweets coming exclusively from him. President Obama is committed to making his Administration the most open and participatory in history, and @POTUS will give Americans a new venue to engage on the issues that matter most to them."
And clearly President Obama is having some fun with his new account (toy?) responding to a question from former President Clinton:
Welcome to @Twitter, @POTUS! One question: Does that username stay with the office? #askingforafriend
— Bill Clinton (@billclinton) May 18, 2015
Good question, @billclinton. The handle comes with the house. Know anyone interested in @FLOTUS?
— President Obama (@POTUS) May 18, 2015
Obama has not been entirely absent from Twitter. The White House has been tweeting under @BarackObama, an account run by Organizing for Action, an outgrowth of the president's campaign. Obama's own tweets from that account were signed "— bo."
Obama's new Twitter account, verified of course, so far lists 65 people and institutions he's following. It's heavy on Chicago sports teams, (Blackhawks, White Sox, Bears and Bulls), Cabinet officers and executive agencies.
He's also following the three colleges and universities he attended: Columbia, Harvard and Occidental.
No celebrities, or journalists for that matter, have made the list yet.
Obama's bio on @POTUS says he is "Dad, husband and 44th President of the United States."
Left unclear is whether "re-tweets are not endorsements."
Hey @POTUS – Welcome to Twitter. See you around the neighborhood. –vp pic.twitter.com/iaUVFtQVpk
— Vice President Biden (@VP) May 18, 2015
Several of his tweeting friends welcomed the president, including Vice President Joe Biden.
The bear is loose on the Twittersphere! Welcome to the interwebs, Mr. President. https://t.co/SrlAbK3rfK
— Valerie Jarrett (@vj44) May 18, 2015
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Transcript
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
(Reading) Hello, Twitter. It's Barack. Really.
With that tweet, President Obama became a full-fledged member of the Twitterverse. The new account is @POTUS, which is the acronym for president of the United States. The White House says it will be a way for Mr. Obama to directly connect with the American people. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.
BRIAN NAYLOR, BYLINE: Obama's profile proclaims he's, quote, "dad, husband and 44th president of the United States." Now, it's not like Obama has been entirely absent from Twitter. The White House has been tweeting under @BarackObama, an account run by Organizing for Action, an outgrowth of the president's campaign. Obama's own tweets from that account were signed BO. There's also a White House account, @WhiteHouse. But according to a post on the White House blog, the @POTUS account will serve as a new way for President Obama to engage directly with the American people with tweets coming exclusively from him.
A White House official tweeted that the @POTUS Twitter handle will be passed down to future presidents. Obama's new Twitter account is, of course, verified, and so far he's following 65 people and institutions. The list is heavy on Chicago sports teams - the Blackhawks, White Sox, Bears and Bulls - along with Cabinet officers and various executive agencies. He's also following the three colleges and universities he attended - Columbia, Harvard and Occidental. No celebrities or, for that matter, journalists, yet. No word on whether retweets are not endorsements.
Some of the president's colleagues tweeted out welcomes. Vice President Joe Biden tweeted, (reading) hey @POTUS. See you around the neighborhood.
Adviser Valerie Jarrett proclaimed, (reading) the bear is loose on the Twittersphere. Welcome to the interwebs, Mr. President.
And from Michelle Obama, (reading) it's about time.
Brian Naylor, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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