“In the meantime, I want to hear what you're thinking about the road ahead," former President Barack Obama said. | Getty Obama promises return to work after vacation in first post-presidential tweet

Former President Barack Obama tweeted for the first time as a former president, returning to his @BarackObama handle after primarily using @POTUS since May 2015.

“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,” Obama tweeted.


Donald Trump took over the @POTUS account after his inauguration Friday, with Obama’s tweets as president being archived @POTUS44. Obama’s @POTUS44 has 14 million followers, while his @BarackObama handle has 80.9 million. By comparison, Trump’s @realDonaldTrump handle has 20.8 million followers. Trump’s @POTUS account, which launched with 0 followers after the inauguration, has 10.4 million followers as of 4:15 on Friday.

Obama also tweeted a link to a video of him and former First Lady Michelle Obama discussing the upcoming Obama Presidential Center on the south side of Chicago. In the video, former President Obama describes the center as “more than a library or a museum”, saying it will be a “living, working center for citizenship.”

“In the meantime, I want to hear what you're thinking about the road ahead. So share your ideas with me here: https://www.obama.org/ ,” he tweeted shortly after his first post-presidential tweet.

