It’s hard to imagine Donald Trump winning the presidency without Twitter. Trump’s tweets were his first foray into politics, and throughout the campaign his use of the social media site energized his supporters and gave him a way to speak directly to millions of American voters.
But as Trump prepared to take the oath of office on Friday, he used unique a new way to speak to the American people — through the photo-messaging app Snapchat.
Trump launched his Snapchat account in September in the midst of the presidential campaign. His Snapchat handle matches that of his personal Twitter account — @realDonaldTrump — and is verified by the “flying stack of cash” emoji (💸).
His first “story” — a series of videos that can be viewed by followers for 24 hours — as president showed his motorcade traveling from the White House to the Capitol Building for the inauguration ceremonies.
It's not clear whether the video was taken by Trump himself or a staffer.
Trump isn’t the first president to use the social media app. Members of Barack Obama’s staff snapped photos and videos using the handle @POTUS. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton also used Snapchat during the 2016 campaign.
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.
