President Barack Obama Launches Twitter Account, Receives Racist, Sarcastic Messages

President Barack Obama finally has his own Twitter account. However, the “Dad, husband, and 44th President of the United States” became a target of a number of racist and sarcastic "welcome" messages.

Obama’s handle, @POTUS, already has nearly 2 million followers. Former President Bill Clinton was curious to know if the username would stay with the office. Obama was quick to answer: His third tweet confirmed that the handle comes with White House occupancy. Obama also promoted the handle @FLOTUS, the Twitter handle for the first lady.

The Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart reported that one user, who referred to Obama by using the N-word, posted a racist tweet soon after Obama posted his first one. When checked, the account was found to have been deactivated.

Obama follows 65 accounts so far. The people whom he follows include former U.S. presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He also follows a number of sports accounts like Chicago Bulls, Chicago Bears, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Blackhawks. Obama follows educational accounts like Occidental College, Harvard University and Columbia University.

Twitter users were curious about Obama’s new account. One user wondered if government officials forced Obama to give up the @BarackObama account. “A similar thing happened to me with health insurance,” the user sarcastically remarked.

One user tweeted that he blocked Obama’s account while an account apparently related to Israel News wondered if Obama got himself a page in Twitter “as a parachute for a soft landing.” Another user said that the U.S. president should not call himself “the most powerful man” as he could have a Twitter account only when the CIA allowed him to.

The Twitter handle is not going to stay with Obama for long. “The @POTUS account, like other institutional social media accounts, will be passed over to the next administration,” Politico quotes a White House official as saying.

Obama is also following fellow politicians like John Kerry, Susan Rice and Josh Earnest. He also follows Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden. However, there is one notable name missing from the list: Hillary Clinton.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au