Biden launches new Twitter account ahead of inauguration

Joe Biden’s transition team launched a new account for the president-elect Thursday night, @PresElectBiden.

That account will become @POTUS when Biden is inaugurated, while President Trump’s @POTUS account will be archived as @POTUS45.

Folks — This will be the account for my official duties as President. At 12:01 PM on January 20th, it will become @POTUS. Until then, I’ll be using @JoeBiden. And while you’re here, follow @FLOTUSBiden @SenKamalaHarris @SecondGentleman and @Transition46.

— President-elect Biden (@PresElectBiden) January 15, 2021

Creating the account in advance of the inauguration will give Biden’s team time to build up a following before receiving the official institutional account.

Biden’s team has complained that Trump inherited the @POTUS and @WhiteHouse that former President Obama built up during his term.

“These institutional accounts will not automatically retain the followers from the prior administration,” Twitter said Thursday.

“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.”