White House clarifies it briefly follows Twitter handles during state visits

A senior Trump administration official told the press that White House follows accounts of the host country's officials for a brief period of time during the Presidential visits to share and retweet posts related to the trip. The issue came into light when the official Twitter handle of the White House unfollowed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's account along with President Ramnath Kovind and some other official handles, including the Indian Embassy in the US, the US Embassy in India. 

Read: Donald Trump Considering COVID-19 Checks On International Flights

The White House had started following these accounts during President Donald Trump's official state visit to India in late February, however, early this week the White House unfollowed all these accounts. 

Read: COVID-19: US Vice President Mike Pence Spotted At A Crowded Hospital Without Face Mask

The White House explained that it follows the accounts of officials and leaders of the host country for a brief period of time during a presidential trip to retweet their messages in support of the visit. Opposition leader Rahil Gandhi took to his Twitter handle to post about the unfollowing of these accounts by the official White House handle saying he was appalled by the development and asked the ministry of foreign affairs to take note of it. 

Read: US GDP Fell 4.8% In The First Quarter Of 2020 Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Accounts White House is following 

The White House typically follows accounts of senior officials in the US government including the handles of the president and the first lady. The White House is currently following thirteen accounts in total, that includes President Donald Trump's official and personal handles, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, second lady Karen Pence, former White House Press Secretary, Stephanie Grisham, new Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, Office of Management and Budget, among others. 

Read: Donald Trump Abandoned His Media Briefings Over The Weekend Only To Come Back Subdued

Read: Oklahoma Governor Asks Donald Trump To Declare COVID-19 An 'Act Of God'

(Image Credit: whitehouse.gov/Webpage)