Twitter Says Followers of Trump Government Accounts Including @POTUS Will Not Transfer to Biden Administration

Twitter says that it will instead give users the option to continue following the accounts or unfollow after Joe Biden takes over.

Advertisement
By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 23 December 2020 17:57 IST
Highlights
  • Twitter has been working on transition for platform widely used by Trump
  • @POTUS has some 33 million and @WhiteHouse has 26 million followers
  • President Donald Trump has some 88 million followers on Twitter

Twitter will reset the accounts to zero tweets and transfer to the incoming Biden White House

Twitter said Tuesday it would not automatically transfer the millions of followers of official Trump administration accounts to the incoming Biden administration, but instead give users the option to continue or not.

The move affects followers of  government-led accounts such as @WhiteHouse and @POTUS, which will be transferred to Joe Biden when he takes over the presidency in January.

Twitter's decision won't affect the personal account @realDonaldTrump, which is frequently used by President Donald Trump and has some 88 million followers.

Advertisement

The official government accounts "will not automatically retain their existing followers. Instead, Twitter will notify followers of these accounts to provide context that the content will be archived and allow them the choice to follow the Biden administration's new accounts," a Twitter statement said.

"For example, people who follow @WhiteHouse will be notified that the account has been archived as @WhiteHouse45 and given the option to follow the new @WhiteHouse account."

Twitter has been working on the transition for the platform widely used by Trump since the election results were finalised, and has indicated that as a private citizen Trump may not have as much leeway in stretching the rules for newsworthy comments.

Advertisement

While not as widely followed as Trump's personal account, @POTUS has some 33 million followers and @WhiteHouse 26 million.

The transfer will affect other institutional accounts such as @VP, @FLOTUS, @PressSec, @Cabinet, and @LaCasaBlanca, according to Twitter.

Advertisement

Last month, Twitter indicated any special treatment that Trump has enjoyed ends with his presidency.

"Twitter's approach to world leaders, candidates and public officials is based on the principle that people should be able to choose to see what their leaders are saying with clear context," the San Francisco company said.

Advertisement

"This policy framework applies to current world leaders and candidates for office, and not private citizens when they no longer hold these positions."


Is MacBook Air M1 the portable beast of a laptop that you always wanted? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
 

Catch the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show on Gadgets 360, at our CES 2026 hub.

Further reading: Twitter, Joe Biden, Donald Trump
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Redmi Note 15 Pro Series 5G India Launch Gets Delayed
  2. Samsung Galaxy S26 Series Launch Date Surfaces Ahead of Unpacked Event
  3. Here's How Much the Motorola Signature Could Cost in India
  4. iPhone 18 Pro Series Expected to Debut With Dynamic Island, Tipster Claims
  5. Samsung Sound Tower 2026 Lineup Launched in India With These Features
  6. Top Deals on Refrigerators During Amazon Great Republic Day Sale
  7. Apple Pay Could Soon Be Available in India With Tap-to-Pay Support: Report
  1. Samsung Galaxy S26 Launch Date, Pre-Order Timeline Tipped Ahead of Galaxy Unpacked Next Month
  2. Shambala Now Streaming Online: What You Need to Know About Aadi Saikumar Starrer Movie
  3. Deepinder Goyal to Step Down as Eternal CEO; Blinkit’s Albinder Dhindsa Named Successor
  4. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Says AI’s Real Test Is Whether It Reaches Beyond Big Tech: Report
  5. Meta's New AI Team Delivered First Key Models Internally This Month, CTO Says
  6. Apple Pay Reportedly Likely to Launch in India Soon; iPhone Maker Said to Be in Talks With Card Networks
  7. Netflix Will Now Pay All Cash for Warner Bros. to Keep Paramount at Bay
  8. Xbox Game Pass Wave 2 Lineup for January Announced: Death Stranding Director's Cut, Space Marine 2 and More
  9. Best Laser Printers with Scanners That You Can Buy in India Right Now
  10. Samsung Sound Tower 2026 Lineup Launched in India With Up to 18 Hours of Playback, 240W Output: Price, Features
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2026. All rights reserved.