Inauguration Day Live Blog: Donald Trump Has Left the White House

Live updates of the events of the day from January 20, 2021, Inauguration Day.

07:45 a.m.: The Second Most Important Transfer of Power Wednesday—the @POTUS Twitter Handle

Wednesday also marks the most fraught handover of (digital) power in social media history—the @POTUS Twitter account. At noon Wednesday, the presidential account, along with the attendant accounts @WhiteHouse, @VP, @FLOTUS and @PressSec, will all change hands, but not without some controversy! When Biden teams assume control of the official accounts of the presidency, unlike four years ago, the new owner won’t automatically retain the account’s followers, which when it comes to @POTUS, now tally 33 million.

“These institutional accounts will not automatically retain the followers from the prior administration,” Twitter wrote on its blog about the handover. “People on Twitter who previously followed institutional White House Twitter accounts, or who currently follow relevant Biden or Harris Twitter accounts, will receive in-app alerts and other prompts that will notify them about the archival process, as well as give them the option to follow the new administration’s Twitter accounts.”

It’s not totally clear why Twitter is purging the U.S. government accounts. The Biden digital team seems annoyed. But surely has bigger things to worry about. Facebook and YouTube are also transitioning Wednesday.

—Elliot Hannon

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