Hashtag #ObamaFarewell is the buzz on Twitter during president’s farewell address

When Barack Obama, the outgoing 44th President of the United States, was elected to office in 2008, Twitter was in its infancy.

The then two-year-old company was experiencing growth, but was not the mainstay of social media that it is today.

So when the nation’s first African American commander-in-chief said goodbye to the American people Tuesday during a farewell address in his hometown of Chicago, reaction to the final speech varied on the site.

Responses ranged from supportive to critical; indifferent to comical.

To wit, the hashtag #ObamaFarewell produced thoughtful comments such as this from former pro basketball player Earvin Magic Johnson:

Actor Jon Favreau praised the President for never giving up.

Former Missouri House Speaker Tim Jones tweeted what he thought about Obama’s two terms in office, calling them, in essence, a failure.

A Twitter account belonging to a group called Missouri4Trump also expressed dissatisfaction with Obama’s two-term stay.

Actor James Woods is apparently not a fan of the President either:

Ellen DeGeneres witty praise of Obama was retweeted about 11,000 times and was favored about 35,000 times.

“I love you more than I have space on Twitter to describe,” DeGeneres wrote.

President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office Jan. 20, was conspicuously quiet on Twitter during the speech. Trump has used the platform extensively since announcing his intent to run for office last year.

This story was originally published January 10, 2017 at 10:28 PM with the headline "Hashtag #ObamaFarewell is the buzz on Twitter during president’s farewell address."