White House Explains Why It Unfollowed President Kovind, PM Modi

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 18: The American flag sits next to a empty speaker podium before U.S. President Barack Obama gives a statement during a press conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on August 18, 2014 in Washington, DC. Obama returned early from his vacation in Martha's Vineyard to hold meetings with his national security team and also with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in regards to the situation in Iraq and the continuing violence in Ferguson, Missouri. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Washington: The Donald Trump administration explained why it had unfollowed the accounts of President Ramnath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, clarifying that its Twitter handle ‘follows’ accounts of officials from host countries for a brief period during a presidential trip to retweet their messages.

The official Twitter handle of the White House — @WhiteHouse — had started ‘following’ President Kovind, PM Modi, the PMO, Indian Embassy in the US, US Embassy in India and US Ambassador to India, Ken Juster when President Trump visited India for two days in the last week of February.

“The White House Twitter account normally follows senior US government Twitter accounts, and others as appropriate. For example, during the time of a presidential visit, the account typically follows for a short time, the host country’s officials to retweet their messages in support of the visit,” a senior official was quoted as saying by PTI.

The White House, which has 22 million followers, has traditionally been following 13 accounts including that of President Donald Trump and his official Twitter handle.