‘Happy birthday to this future president’: Why White House is mocking Hillary Clinton with her old post

Nothing dies on the internet — it’s something Hillary Clinton may just be lamenting right now.

On the occasion of Social Media Day, which is celebrated on June 30, Donald Trump’s White House took the opportunity to jab the former presidential contender by reviving an old X post that she had tweeted 10 years ago.

Many quickly took note of the White House’s jibe, with @finance_streets writing, “The joke writes itself: one post, one prediction, and the internet still hasn’t stopped talking about it years later. Politics changes fast, but screenshots stay forever.”

If you are wondering what’s going on, we get you all the details.

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Celebrating Social Media Day and then a taunt

To celebrate Social Media Day, @uberfacts posted a message, “Today is Social Media Day — What social media post will forever remain unmatched?”

Soon enough, netizens posted their responses, flooding the timeline. According to one X user, “Elon asking how much Twitter costs” was the social media post that was unforgettable.

Another noted that the “day when Elon brought a sink into X headquarters” was extraordinary.

Similar posts kept emerging, entertaining the social media world.

However, on July 1, the White House jumped on the bandwagon and shared this as their most unforgettable social media post.

It soon gained traction with some netizens finding it hilarious. One X user simply wrote, “hahhahhhhaaa.” Another netizen posted this in response: “Beware the wrath of a patient man.”

A third X user wrote, “This is petty. I’m not saying I don’t like it. I’m just pointing that out.”

The 2016 Hillary Clinton post that no one will forget

But what is the backstory of the post put up by the White House? Why is it being called a jibe at Hillary Clinton?

In October 2016, Clinton, who was then the Democratic presidential candidate running against Donald Trump, wished herself ‘happy birthday’ in the most public way possible — on X (it was then called Twitter).

“Happy birthday to this future president,” Clinton’s account tweeted, along with a black-and-white photo of her as a child.

The post came while she was still in the thick of campaigning for US president. This led many netizens to assume that Clinton was perhaps being a tad bit presumptuous. Some, like noted journalist Piers Morgan, even referred to her as a narcissist.

One user wrote: “Did you just wish a happy birthday to yourself? Weirdo lol”, while another noted, “If this tweet doesn’t go viral, there is no justice.”

Shortly after her post, Clinton lost the 2016 presidential election race to Trump, with many even wondering if the Democrat candidate had regretted the post in hindsight.

A year later, Donald Trump Jr, the US president’s son, used Clinton’s birthday to take a dig at her, referencing her previous year’s post. “A year later, the arrogance and entitlement in this tweet is exactly why it was never going to happen,” Trump Jr wrote after attaching an image of Clinton’s 2016 post.

Since then, the post keeps reappearing on social media around the time of her birthday — October 26 — with many mocking her.

For instance, four years after she had wished herself on her birthday, one X user wrote, “Thanks for giving us something to still laugh at four years later, madam private citizen!”

Another X user wrote, “Wishing yourself a happy birthday and taking the election result for granted. This has got to be an all-time classic Twitter self own.”

We can only wonder if Clinton is thinking of removing the post that started it all. For now, it remains online and continues to provide many laughs to many people.

With inputs from agencies