• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Leadership

One President Dominated Twitter’s Top Tweets of 2017, and It Wasn’t Donald Trump

By
Natasha Bach
Natasha Bach
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Natasha Bach
Natasha Bach
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 5, 2017, 8:36 AM ET

As 2017 winds down, President Donald Trump continues to make headlines via his active Twitter account on a near-daily basis. But for all his furious posting, the tweeter-in-chief failed to make Twitter’s lists of most-liked and most-retweeted posts of 2017.

So who did take the No. 1 slots? Those prizes, announced Tuesday, went to former President Barack Obama and—interestingly enough—a teenager on a quest for chicken nuggets.

Read: Twitter Backtracks on Why It Didn’t Block Trump’s Anti-Muslim Tweets

Former President Barack Obama had the most-liked tweet of the year. His post in response to the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville this summer received 4.6 million likes. Another tweet, which he shared after Senator John McCain’s brain cancer diagnosis was made public, received more than 2 million likes, making it the third most-liked of 2017.

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion…" pic.twitter.com/InZ58zkoAm

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 13, 2017

John McCain is an American hero & one of the bravest fighters I've ever known. Cancer doesn't know what it's up against. Give it hell, John.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 20, 2017

Obama was also responsible for three of the ten most-retweeted tweets of the year. The Charlottesville tweet came in at No. 2, with 1.7 million retweets.

The No. 1 retweeted spot, meanwhile, went to a teenager trying to get a year of free chicken nuggets from Wendy’s. The teen’s tweet received more than 3.6 million retweets but fell well short of the 18 million target set by Wendy’s. (The fast food chain gave him the year supply of chicken anyway.)

HELP ME PLEASE. A MAN NEEDS HIS NUGGS pic.twitter.com/4SrfHmEMo3

— Carter Wilkerson (@carterjwm) April 6, 2017

Two tweets that Obama shared at the end of his presidency ranked fifth and eighth among the most-retweeted. Obama’s thank you and call for change received 869,000 retweets, landing at No. 5. “Thank you for everything,” he posted. “My last ask is the same as my first. I’m asking you to believe—not in my ability to create change, but in yours.” And his final tweet as president received a respectable 630,000 retweets to land at No. 8. In it, he said, “It’s been the honor of my life to serve you. You made me a better leader and a better man.”

 

About the Author
By Natasha Bach
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

yamal
EuropeSports
Teenage soccer sensation Lamine Yamal hobnobs with Olivia Rodrigo, wins championship, waves Palestinian flag
By Nick LichtenbergMay 12, 2026
13 hours ago
Accounting’s big ‘wake-up call’: AI is forcing companies to rethink entry-level jobs
Future of Workaccounting
Accounting’s big ‘wake-up call’: AI is forcing companies to rethink entry-level jobs
By Demi Lawrence and CFO BrewMay 12, 2026
13 hours ago
Ed Bastian with both his hands up
SuccessProductivity
Delta CEO Ed Bastian asked AI to write his graduation speech—then scrapped it and warned Gen Z against ‘pushing the easy button’
By Preston ForeMay 12, 2026
18 hours ago
Daniela Amodei, co-founder and president of Anthropic
SuccessFounders
Anthropic’s Daniela Amodei says entrepreneurs should go on vacation to road test potential cofounders—if they’re a drain, they’re ‘the wrong choice’
By Emma BurleighMay 12, 2026
18 hours ago
Girls say AI is a smarter tutor, a funnier comedian, and has better taste than their parents, new Girl Scouts survey finds
AIHealth
Girls say AI is a smarter tutor, a funnier comedian, and has better taste than their parents, new Girl Scouts survey finds
By Catherina GioinoMay 12, 2026
20 hours ago
klein
CommentarySoftware
SAP CEO: the AI race is being fought in the wrong place 
By Christian KleinMay 12, 2026
21 hours ago

Most Popular

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
13 hours ago
Forget U.S. debt, China's total borrowing is in 'a league of its own'—much worse and deteriorating faster, analyst says
Economy
Forget U.S. debt, China's total borrowing is in 'a league of its own'—much worse and deteriorating faster, analyst says
By Jason MaMay 11, 2026
2 days ago
Nearly 50,000 Lake Tahoe residents have to find a new power source after their energy source looks to redirect lines to data centers
Travel & Leisure
Nearly 50,000 Lake Tahoe residents have to find a new power source after their energy source looks to redirect lines to data centers
By Catherina GioinoMay 12, 2026
16 hours ago
U.S. hotels are calling the World Cup a 'non-event' and 80% warn bookings are falling short of expectations, report finds
North America
U.S. hotels are calling the World Cup a 'non-event' and 80% warn bookings are falling short of expectations, report finds
By Sasha RogelbergMay 12, 2026
1 day ago
Microsoft’s CFO admits she joined the tech giant without even knowing her salary—and then missed her first day of work
Success
Microsoft’s CFO admits she joined the tech giant without even knowing her salary—and then missed her first day of work
By Preston ForeMay 11, 2026
2 days ago
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says Gen Z and millennials are using ChatGPT like a 'life advisor'—but college students might be one step ahead
Tech
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says Gen Z and millennials are using ChatGPT like a 'life advisor'—but college students might be one step ahead
By Sydney LakeMay 10, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.