This time, we’re exploring the most-liked Tweets posted since New Year, 2021.
Social media may have many serious flaws, but it was one place to reach out to others during the past year until now. While everyone was quarantining, Twitter and other platforms offered a glimpse into what big names and others were thinking about. Thus, we didn’t have to feel quite so isolated and could see everyone was going through the crisis together.
Around the turn of the New Year, we got a feeling that we would be coming out of a long, extremely dark tunnel. Now, we see sunbeams as multiple vaccines are becoming more widely available at last.
What People Liked Most
When we look at the tweets that gathered the most “likes,” it reveals that people are starting to feel more optimistic. Perhaps, even unified?
So, with that in mind, we’re looking at the most-liked tweets of 2021 so far. By seeing how people are responding, it can reveal quite a lot about us as a culture.
It’s a New Day in America
Starting the New Year and his presidential inauguration on January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden shared a simple statement:
“It’s a new day in America,” tweeted Biden.
That simple, short phrase resonated with millions, reaching over 4.2 million likes.
Why was that brief sentence so exceptional? Well, America had just gone through the most divisive political time in modern history. On January 6, a mob tried to violently stop Congress from taking the Electoral College vote’s official count in a 232-year-old democracy.
Following that horrible day, Twitter decided to suspend the former president’s account permanently “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”
Over the last year, America became a hotspot for the pandemic, with little signs it would let up. Yes, it was time for a new day, and people were responding accordingly.
Related: Memorable Quotes at the Transition From 2020 to 2021
This is Your Time
To celebrate the day Joe Biden took the oath of office, former President Obama shared his congratulations. The tweet received over 2.8 million likes and 331 thousand retweets.
In the accompanying photo, President Obama and his then-Vice President Biden walked through a White House door, sharing an encouraging hug. Thus, we get a sense of genuine warmth and appreciation as President Biden began his own presidency.
During the Obama administration, the two men shared genuine camaraderie, as seen in a humorous White House workout video.
Champ and Major Arrive
First Lady Jill Biden’s most liked Tweet of 2021 is a picture showing the family dogs, Champ, and Major’s arrival. Seeing the two German Shepherds appearing with the family was another reminder for us that things would be returning to normal again.
On that day, Major became the first shelter dog to live in the White House at three years old.
“Champ and Major have joined us in the White House!” she tweeted on January 25, 2021.
Presidential Puppies
After a Major nipped White House security on the hand in early March, he and Champ, 12, went back to Delaware temporarily. Now, White House press secretary Jen Psaki says the dogs will be returning soon. Fortunately, the nip was minor, and Major was startled by someone he wasn’t familiar with.
Biden adopted Champ as a puppy shortly after becoming Vice President in 2008. Then, in 2018, the family adopted Major from a shelter. In a February appearance with talk show host and singer Kelly Clarkson, Jill Biden said she “obsessed with getting [the] dogs settled.”
According to The Guardian, Donald Trump was the first US president in a century not to have a dog. Getting a dog would make him feel “a little phony,” he told a rally crowd in El Paso, Texas, in 2019.
“How would I look walking a dog on the White House lawn? Would that be right?” said Trump.
After a pause and a shake of his head, he said, “I don’t know. Feels a little phony, phony to me. A lot of people say, ‘Oh, you should get a dog,’ ‘Why?’ ‘It’s good politically.’ I said, ‘Look, that’s not the relationship I have with my people.'”
After someone in the crowd yelled, “Obama had a dog!” Trump responded with a laugh:
“Yeah, Obama had a dog, you’re right.”
Today, Obama’s two Portuguese Water Dogs, Bo, and Sunny continue to be favorites whenever they appear on social media. In a memoir, President Obama revealed the Bo, an inauguration gift from the late Ted Kennedy, was one of his best allies and friends.
In the past, Trump has posed with Westminster dog show champions in Trump Tower. However, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, most Americans own a four-legged friend, with as many as 68 percent owning at least one.
See how Major got adopted from a shelter by the Dodo below:
Wear a Mask
On January 23, 2021, the most liked Tweet from the Biden White House became another simple, efficient message. Dr. Anthony Fauci shared the quote:
“Wear a mask,” tweeted the White House.
As he said it, the doctor put the mask on his face.
Notably, seeing chief medical adviser Dr. Fauci appearing on the official White House account was reassuring for many. Then-President Trump and Vice President Pence faced criticism for silencing Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert after Fauci publicly disagreed with the Trump administration.
No One is Born Hating
President Obama also tweeted one of if not the most-liked Tweet in history and posted six of the ten most-liked tweets of all time.
In August 2017, he posted a photo as he looked up into an open window. Inside, a group of babies with varying skin colors looked down at him.
Along with the picture, Obama shared an inspiring and true quote:
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion.”
The quotation came from South African President Nelson Mandela in the autobiography “Long Walk to Freedom. President Obama shared the tweet after a violent clash in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
More to Like in 2021
So far, it looks like 2021 is off to a much more promising start. Vaccines for the pandemic are arriving, and people are beginning to have hopes for a better year ahead.
Here’s to more things to like in 2021!
Special mention must go to the South Korean Boy band BTS, who captured millions of Twitter likes from adoring fans in 2021.
Featured images: Screenshots via Twitter/ Obama, White House