Donald Trump, White House unfollows PM Modi on Twitter

April 30: The White House, which has over 21 million followers, has unfollowed all Indian handles including that of the Prime Minister’s office and the Indian embassy in the US. The White House account had started following PM Modi on April 10. He became the only world leader followed by the official Twitter handle of the US administration. Now, the number has gone back to 13 and the only handles that the White House is following is that of Trump and a few other handles related to the US administration.

The White House had followed PM Modi and the other Indian handles after urging him to lift the ban on export of hydroxychloroquine, a drug which Trump had repeatedly promoted as a miraculous solution to coronavirus. After Trump’s request, Modi had lifted the ban on the drug’s export. Following this, Trump had tweeted saying, “Extraordinary times require even closer cooperation between friends…” and that Modi’s help during the covid-19 crisis will not be forgotten.

“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 administration official told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

I'm dismayed by the "unfollowing" of our President & PM by the White House. I urge the Ministry of External Affairs to take note.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 29, 2020

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he was “dismayed” at the development. He tweeted, “I’m dismayed by the “unfollowing” of our President & PM by the White House. I urge the Ministry of External Affairs to take note,” he said in a tweet on Wednesday.