If you thought President Barack Obama already had his own Facebook page you’re probably not alone.
But it turns out that nearly three-quarters of the way through his second term in office, the Commander-in-Chief still didn’t have his own profile on the social network. That changed Monday when the President announced on Facebook (FB) that he—at long last—has his own page.
Obama’s inaugural post was a video that featured the President walking around a section of the White House grounds known as President’s Park in a two-minute tour aimed at raising awareness of climate change and pushing for environmental conservation. “I want to make sure the beauty of this particular national park, but also national parks across the country and our planet are going to be there for Malia, Sasha, their kids, their grandkids for generations to come,” President Obama said in the video.
https://www.facebook.com/potus/videos/vb.424207551102424/425063411016838/?type=2&theater
The President’s profile identifies him as “Dad, husband, and 44th President of the United States,” and his timeline includes life events like the oath of office that launched his second term and the swearing-in at the start of his first. It also mentions his tenure as an Illinois state Senator and the four years he spent representing Illinois in the U.S. Senate. There’s also a post marking his wedding to First Lady Michelle Obama in October 1992.
President Obama’s inaugural appearance on Facebook comes about six months after he joined Twitter.
Hello, Twitter! It's Barack. Really! Six years in, they're finally giving me my own account.
— President Obama (@POTUS44) May 18, 2015
Thirty minutes after his first tweet, Obama’s Twitter account gained 100,000 followers. He hit 1 million followers in just five hours—fast enough to break a Guinness World Record.
An hour after his first Facebook post, Obama’s page had nearly 60,000 likes. Among the first to congratulate the president on his profile was Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg. “Welcome to Facebook, President Obama!” she wrote in a comment on Obama’s post. “Excited for you to have your very own Page—and looking forward to the conversation (and the just-for-fun stuff).”
