U.S. President Donald Trump's first year in office has been defined as much as anything by his prolific use of Twitter to go around what he sees as a sometimes hostile news media and communicate directly with the American people.
The tweets, often posted from his White House bedroom or a weekend retreat, have by turns excited, perplexed and outraged his readers, while often signaling policy reversals that have forced his aides to scramble to get on board.
As the curtain comes down on that eventful year, VOA has assembled a list of the 10 most impactful tweets of his presidency to date, as measured by the number of times each was retweeted. Collectively, the tweets provide a recap of some of the highs and lows of Trump's first year.
His presidency was less than a day old when more than 1 million people turned out for a "Women's March" in Washington on January 21 to protest Trump's inauguration.
Trump took to Twitter the next day to mock the protesters, and especially participating celebrities such as feminist icon Gloria Steinem, pop star Madonna and actress Scarlett Johansson. "Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election!" Trump tweeted. "Why didn't these people vote? Celebs hurt cause badly."
But just two hours later, the new president adopted a more conciliatory tone. "Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don't always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views." That tweet was retweeted 81,527 times, making it the 10th most retweeted of his first year.
It was in late May that Trump upended normal diplomatic protocol in making his first overseas trip as president to Saudi Arabia, where he was feted with lavish hospitality and honors by the Saudis.
In a surprising turn for a president who had excoriated Muslims during the election campaign, Trump urged regional leaders to ally with the United States in a global fight against terrorism. He told dozens of Arab and Muslim leaders at a regional summit in Riyadh the world was "a battle between good and evil."
Shortly after landing in Riyadh on May 20, Trump tweeted a photo of his red-carpet arrival:
Great to be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Looking forward to the afternoon and evening ahead.
With 97,922 retweets, it was his seventh most retweeted posting.
Back in Washington a little more than a week later, Trump issued what remains his most perplexing tweet to date: "Despite the constant negative press covfefe." The never fully explained tweet prompted a wide range of theories, ranging from his having fallen asleep with his finger on the keyboard to a suggestion by a respected academic that it was some kind of "diversionary tactic."
Asked about the cryptic message, then-White House press secretary Sean Spicer replied, "The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant." Pressed for clarification, the press secretary did not respond, much to the chagrin of a befuddled press corps.
Trump, however, seemed to be untroubled by the confusion his tweet had caused. Later that day, he followed up with this: "Who can figure out the true meaning of covfefe' ? Enjoy!" The two tweets ran up 127,507 and 85,555 retweets respectively, ranking fourth and ninth for the year.
It was on June 6 that Trump again dismayed the foreign policy mavens by unexpectedly taking a stand on a simmering dispute between Saudi Arabia and the small but wealthy Persian Gulf nation of Qatar. In a move that took experts by surprise, Riyadh and its allies had sought to isolate Qatar diplomatically and economically, accusing it of financing various terrorist efforts.
That might have created a dilemma for the United States, which has good relations with Qatar and maintains its largest military base in the Middle East in that country. But Trump tweeted his unambiguous approval and even seemed to take credit for the move: "During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!"
The posting had 87,163 retweets, the eighth highest total of the year.
It was about four weeks later that Trump carried his feud with American news media to new heights by tweeting a doctored video that showed him tackling and punching a figure with the CNN logo pasted over its face.
Authorities at the news network, which Trump has repeatedly denounced as a source of "fake news," were not amused by the video, which came from a professional Wrestlemania event 10 years earlier in which Trump had performed outside the wrestling ring in a fake match.