The leader has even gone so far as to announce new policies on the platform, endorse candidates, and slam foes national and international — and such efforts have often proven highly controversial. Supporters and detractors alike have retweeted his social media outpourings enthusiastically, hundreds of thousands of times. Here are the most "popular" Trump tweets of 2017.
1. Wrestler Trump
Far and away the most retweeted in 2017 was a tweet slamming US cable news channel CNN.
In 2007, Trump, then merely a property tycoon, was the star of a storyline on WWE programming — his involvement with the wrestling promotion culminated with him attacking proprietor Vince McMahon at Wrestlemania, the company's flagship show.
A supporter of the President seized the opportunity to create a meme, replacing McMahon's head with the CNN logo — and Trump seemingly liked it so much he tweeted it out himself.
#FraudNewsCNN #FNN pic.twitter.com/WYUnHjjUjg
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2017
Many criticized the move, with some hysterically suggesting it effectively endorsed violence against journalists.
Nonetheless, it was not the first time Trump had used Twitter to attack the media in general, and CNN specifically — and it would not be the last.
2. ‘Short and Fat'
Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang have been perhaps more strained than ever since Trump took office in January, with the President suggesting in August he was ready to rain down "fire and fury, the likes of which the world has never seen before" on North Korea.
The war of words has not abated since, but one barb allegedly levelled by the state-run Korean Central News Agency was apparently too much for the President to bear — the Agency seemingly ran a story accusing Trump of being a "lunatic old man."
Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me "old," when I would NEVER call him "short and fat?" Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend — and maybe someday that will happen!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2017
Trump would not take the apparent slight lying down, responding in kind with a tweet slamming North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in playground terms.
3. ‘Covfefe'
Trump confounded the world and sparked a brief viral tidal wave on May 30 when he posted a nonsensical tweet, just after midnight.
Despite its hasty deletion, quick-on-the-mark Twitter users preserved it for posterity — some created memes, others (often facetiously) speculated on the President's true meaning, and why he appeared to have been cut off mid-sentence.
With over 127k retweets after 6 hours (at time of deletion), #Covfefe is in the Top10 of most retweetet tweets of @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/rjL8WXPM9s
— Hyza (@Hyza87) May 31, 2017
Social media hijinks only intensified when then-press secretary Sean Spicer attempted to explain the tweet to reporters, suggesting a "small group of people" knew what Trump meant.
4. Saudi Arabia
In his first overseas visit as President, in May Trump visited Saudi Arabia.
Great to be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Looking forward to the afternoon and evening ahead. #POTUSAbroad pic.twitter.com/JJOra0KfyR
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2017
Riyadh pulled out all the stops for the trip, offering him the red carpet treatment and attending his arrival with a fighter jet flyover — his beaming face was even projected on the sides of buildings. A tweet noting his warm welcome proved very popular — many of the retweeters were Saudi citizens.
I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2017
A subsequent November tweet — in which the President expressing his "great confidence" in King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — came in the midst of an anti-corruption campaign, which saw Saudi ministers, business leaders and members of the Saudi royal family arrested, and proved even more popular.
5. ‘You're Welcome'
While Trump was on his November Asia trip, a trio of American college basketball players were arrested in China on shoplifting charges — Trump secured their released, and asked on Twitter whether they would express their gratitude.
They did, and he responded warmly — at least initially. However, a perceived lack of appreciation on the part of one of the freed players' parents — who suggested Trump played little role in their liberation — prompted the President to suggest in tweets the triumvirate should've been left to languish in jail.
Now that the three basketball players are out of China and saved from years in jail, LaVar Ball, the father of LiAngelo, is unaccepting of what I did for his son and that shoplifting is no big deal. I should have left them in jail!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2017
His comments were widely derided.
