Trump's address to Congress sets Twitter activity record
Three million tweets sent about Trump's speech sets a record for an address given to Congress. Millions also watch Bernie Sanders' response on Facebook.
President Donald Trump speaks during his first address to a joint session of Congress.
President Donald Trump's speech Tuesday night set a record for tweets sent during a presidential address to Congress.
The address, Trump's first to Congress since his inauguration in January, garnered 3 million tweets, Twitter said late Tuesday. Tuesday night's activity easily surpassed the previous record of 2.6 million tweets sent during former President Barack Obama's State of the Union address in January 2015.
While Trump discussed building a wall on the Mexican border, Twitter said the most-tweeted moment of his speech focused on the campaign promise to dismantle the Obama-era Affordable Care Act.
His declaration that, "Tonight, I am also calling on this Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare" attracted the most attention.
Tuesday's record appears to reflect the wide usage Trump has made of the social network. The billionaire makes headlines almost every day with a tweetstorm of some sort, but it hasn't given Twitter that needed "Trump bump" spike in users.
However, not to be outdone, former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders gave a 14-minute response to Trump's speech that first appeared on Facebook Live Tuesday night and has since been viewed more than 5 million times (and counting).
The US senator from Vermont challenged Trump for not mentioning Social Security, Medicare, economic inequality, climate change and criminal justice reform. He also encouraged those who challenged their GOP representative at numerous town halls that recently took place across the country to continue.
"Those of you who attended rallies or town hall meetings: keep showing up, keep calling Congress, and continue to fight," he said.
Twitter said the second most-tweeted moment focused on Carryn Owens, the widow of a Navy SEAL killed during a raid in Yemen in January. And, the third most-tweeted moment came when Trump declared: "We all bleed the same blood. We all salute the same flag. And we are all made by the same God."
That message was echoed in the most retweeted tweet of the night, which was sent by President Trump's @POTUS account:
First published Feb. 28, 9:12 p.m. PT.
Update, March 1 at 12:16 p.m.: Adds comments from Bernie Sanders' response to Trump's address and background.
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