Joe Biden Posts First Tweet From Official POTUS Twitter Account
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Joe Biden has posted his first tweet from the official President of the United States (POTUS) Twitter account, following his inauguration this afternoon.
Biden vowed to 'get right to work' on delivering 'bold action and immediate relief' for Americans as he entered the White House.
There is no time to waste when it comes to tackling the crises we face. That's why today, I am heading to the Oval Office to get right to work delivering bold action and immediate relief for American families.
- President Biden (@POTUS) January 20, 2021
He tweeted: "There is no time to waste when it comes to tackling the crises we face. That's why today, I am heading to the Oval Office to get right to work delivering bold action and immediate relief for American families."
The POTUS Twitter account was created during the Obama administration, although Biden's predecessor Donald Trump would also use his own personal account, @realdonaldtrump, to make announcements and attack critics. Well, that's before it was permanently suspended earlier this month, following the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol.
Biden and his team have now gained access to not only the POTUS account, but also others including @WhiteHouse, @VP, @FLOTUS and @PressSec.
The transfer of digital power has become especially important in the modern age of presidency, not least because Twitter was the favourite platform of Trump - who would often come under fire for using it to spread misinformation.
Speaking to CNN, David Lazer, a political science and computer sciences professor at Northeastern University, said of Biden's new grasp on the POTUS account: "It certainly has a big symbolic value.
"The centrality of Twitter to Trump's brand and identity has made the moment a lot more significant."
After being sworn in as Vice President, earlier today Kamala Harris tweeted: "Ready to serve."
Ready to serve.
- Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) January 20, 2021
Twitter has also created a new account, @SecondGentleman, for Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris' husband Doug Emhoff.
While Trump is no longer able to tweet, after leaving the White House he said in a speech: "I wish the new administration great luck and great success. I think they'll have great success - they have the foundation to do something really spectacular, and again, we put it in a position like it's never been before, despite the worst plague to hit since, I guess you'd say 1917 over 100 years ago.
"And despite that the things that we've done have been just incredible, and I couldn't have done it without you.
"So just a goodbye, we love you, we will be back in some form."
