President Obama has joined Twitter with an official White House account that belongs to the current President, whomever that may be. This is similar to other office accounts where the person with the account changes as the officeholder changes. Other examples include the Pope, who tweets from @Pontifex, and various governors. When President Obama leaves office in two years, the @POTUS account will then be transferred over to the new President.
Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account.
— President Obama (@POTUS) May 18, 2015
This new account is an official one and focuses on the government policies and the like. It is different than the @BarackObama account which is run by the staff of Organizing for America. That account focuses more on political activism and issues. It is also the account that the Obama campaign used during both presidential elections and its fifty-nine million Twitter followers make it the third most followed account on the social media platform. The new account has already hit one million followers and did so in less than five hours. The Guinness World Record for quickest time to one million followers is 23 hours and 22 minutes and held by Robert Downey, Jr. It would appear as if President Obama has now broken that record, however Guinness has not officially weighed in. As previously mentioned, the @POTUS account will transfer over to the new President. Now, former President Bill Clinton wanted to make sure of that.
Welcome to @Twitter, @POTUS! One question: Does that username stay with the office? #askingforafriend — Bill Clinton (@billclinton) May 18, 2015
However, President Obama answered and did a bit of trolling.
Good question, @billclinton. The handle comes with the house. Know anyone interested in @FLOTUS?
— President Obama (@POTUS) May 18, 2015
When Hillary Clinton first ran for President in 2008, many wondered what title former President Bill Clinton would use. Some joked that he would use the First Gentleman title. However, he may need to use the @FLOTUS account, especially since @FGOTUS is already taken by an egg account.