Barack Obama sends his chirpy first tweet from personal new POTUS account

White House publicists - its time to get nervous

US president Barack Obama needs to keep enough Democrats on side to ensure that the fast-track bill is passed (AP)

In case you needed any proof that the outgoing President of the United States no longer cares about what you think of him, someone at the White House has let him loose on his very own verified Twitter account.

Barack Obama’s press team have been quietly tweeting away at @BarackObama for years, posting everything from fist bumps with Joe Public, to important updates about the war on climate change.

But @POTUS sees the Democrat adopt a laid back, personal tone, much to the increasing anxiety of his publicity machine.

This is his very first tweet:

And in case you were wondering how long he has left as President to tweet out hilarious anecdotes, pictures of cats and questionable #TBTs, there’s an ongoing countdown to remind you here.