President Obama joins Twitter, gets over 1 Million followers in hours

US President Barack Obama has just launched his own Twitter feed, the White House has confirmed.

His Twitter handle is @POTUS (President Of The United States) and within hours he had attracted over 1,270,000 followers.

“Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account” is his first tweet.

The President’s official feed, run by Organizing for Action staff, has 59.3 million followers.

The account @BarackObama was launched in 2007, and the President initials tweets he writes himself with the letters BO.

“The @POTUS Twitter account will serve as a new way for President Obama to engage directly with the American people, with tweets coming exclusively from him,” reads an entry on the White House website blog.

“President Obama is committed to making his Administration the most open and participatory in history, and @POTUS will give Americans a new venue to engage on the issues that matter most to them.”

President Obama is currently following 65 people, including Bill Clinton, George Bush and the First Lady’s account, @FLOTUS.