Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Barack Obama sends first message as he 'returns' to his personal Twitter account

'Is this thing still on? Michelle and I are off on a quick vacation, then we’ll get back to work'

Andrew Buncombe
Washington DC
Friday 20 January 2017 17:38 EST
Comments
'Hi everybody! Back to the original handle. Is this thing still on?'
'Hi everybody! Back to the original handle. Is this thing still on?' (Getty Images )

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A list of all the changes triggered by the swearing in of a new president would take a long time to compile.

But one, quick, change was the switching over of presidential twitter accounts. As Donald Trump took charge of the @Potus handle, a name that was made available to Barack Obama only two years ago, the outgoing president reclaimed his old handle and quickly started tweeting.

“Hi everybody! Back to the original handle. Is this thing still on? Michelle and I are off on a quick vacation, then we’ll get back to work,” he wrote.

“In the meantime, I want to hear what you're thinking about the road ahead. So share your ideas with me here.”

On Friday morning, his last as president, Mr Obama tweeted a couple of final messages from the official account.

Mr Obama wrote his final tweets from the official presidential handle on Friday morning
Mr Obama wrote his final tweets from the official presidential handle on Friday morning

“It's been the honour of my life to serve you. You made me a better leader and a better man,” he said.

“I won’t stop; I’ll be right there with you as a citizen, inspired by your voices of truth and justice, good humour, and love.”

He also tweeted a link to the website obama.org, where he and Michelle Obama had recorded a video message about what comes next for them.

“After eight years in the White House, Michelle and I now rejoin all of you as private citizens,” Mr Obama said.

“We want to thank you once again from the bottom of hearts for giving us the incredible privilege of serving this country that we love.”

Michelle Obama continued: “First, we’re going to take a little break. We’re finally going to get some sleep and take some time to be with our family, and just be still for a little bit.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in