On January 20, 2017, the presidency passed from Barack Obama to Donald Trump. After the inauguration ceremony, Obama and former first lady Michelle departed for a short vacation in a warmer climate.
Not long after they left, Obama sent out his first tweet as a private citizen. He wrote, “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.”
In just a few days, his tweet has been favorited more than 1.7 million times and retweeted more than 400,000 times. Shortly after this first tweet, he followed up to share information about the Obama Foundation, a new endeavor based in Chicago’s south side.
In a video explaining the foundation, he said, “More than a library or museum, it will be a living, working center for citizenship.” The foundation’s website has a section entitled “Your Voice,” where anyone can contribute ideas or suggestions for what they want the foundation to accomplish.
Obama’s first tweets since the end of his presidency were simple, but they sent a powerful message. Even though he isn’t the president anymore, he and Michelle will still be busy working for the American people.