Political Twitter, With a Side of Sass: The 24 Best Politics Tweets

Politicians employ a multitude of ways to promote themselves, from televised debates to the Sunday morning news show circuit. But when you add in smartphones, savvy strategists and social media, that means politicos have an even bigger playground for running around — and shouting.

Some of the loudest shouting takes place on Twitter, where an entry’s 140 characters allow for a potent mix of policy, politics and snark. While some campaigns use Twitter to give a snapshot of a candidate’s personality, others use it to deliver their sharpest zingers.

InsideGov hunted around the Twittersphere for some of the sassier tweets penned by politicians, the people who love them and the detractors who love to hate them.

#24. Veepstakes, 2012 edition

Before this #VPDebate, @JoeBiden had a Venti macchiato and two cans of Red Bull.

— Jose Antonio Vargas (@joseiswriting) October 12, 2012

Journalist and immigration rights activist Jose Antonio Vargas weighed in on the veep debate in 2012, when Vice President Joe Biden seemed to be having fun going head-to-head with Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, who held the No. 2 spot on the Republican ticket.

#23. Mile-High City

This is like watching a tax law professor debate an investment advice infomercial host

— daveweigel (@daveweigel) October 4, 2012

Pretty much everyone agreed that 2012’s first presidential debate between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was a snoozefest. Obama looked so off his game that former Vice President Al Gore claimed high altitude (the debate was in Denver, which is more than 5,000 miles above sea level) was the culprit.

#22. Hillary vs. Fox

It’s so much more fun to watch FOX when it’s someone else being blitzed & sacked! #SuperBowl

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 3, 2014

During the 2014 Super Bowl — a year after her last day as Secretary of State and more than a year before she announced her presidential bid — Hillary Clinton chimed in on Twitter, taking a swing at Fox News. It got more than 54,000 retweets and more than 41,000 favorites.

#21. #TedCruzCampaignSlogans

Like Sarah Palin's annoying younger brother #TedCruzCampaignSlogans pic.twitter.com/eaRnSs4ZMZ

— B̶l̶u̶e̶Green Dupage (@HDGregg) March 23, 2015

When Sen. Ted Cruz announced he was running for president in March 2015, Twitter chimed in with the hashtag #TedCruzCampaignSlogans, with sarcastic suggestions for the Texas Republican.

#20. Rand’s Trifecta

. @BarackObama sent 7 security guards to #WWIIMemorial this AM to keep out our vets. Sadly, that is 2 more than were present in Benghazi.

— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) October 2, 2013

During the government shutdown in October 2013, Sen. Rand Paul went for the Twitter trifecta in conservative circles, delivering a zinger on President Obama, name-checking veterans and the World War II monument while calling out the Benghazi attacks.

#19. Bobby on Barack

I’ll save you 45 mins. Obama will decry Republicans, beat up on private business and argue for more “free stuff". Your welcome. #SOTU2015”

— Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) January 21, 2015

In January 2015, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal elbowed his way into the Twitter conversation about President Obama’s State of the Union address. One problem, though: Jindal’s tweet confused “you’re” with “your,” which brought on its own batch of Twitter fury (and sass).

#18. Hillary Clinton Running for President, Part 1

I just got an email saying #Hillary Clinton is running for president. Now the email is gone and I can't find it. #Benghazi

— Jeff Lindsey (@jefflindsey55) April 12, 2015

When Hillary Clinton announced she was running for president, the Internet sassed her on her time at the State Department.

#17. Hillary Clinton Running for President, Part 2

Madonna is Coachelling, Hillary is running. Oh, the 90s, how I missed you.

— Crooked Laurie (@anylaurie16) April 13, 2015

When Hillary Clinton announced she was running for president, the Internet also made ’90s jokes.

#16. GOP Debate #1, Part 1

Wow, John Kasich is a better version of Jeb Bush.

— andrew kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) August 7, 2015

BuzzFeed political reporter Andrew Kaczynski tossed out his perspective during the first Republican presidential debate of the 2016 cycle. He sports a go-to Twitter profile among political junkies, and was listed on Time’s 2013 list of best Twitter feeds.

#15. GOP Debate #1, Part 2

#GOPDebate or scene from Mean Girls? You decide. #DebateWithFFL

— FutureFemaleLeaders (@FFL_of_America) August 7, 2015

The conservative women’s group Future Female Leader tweeted during the first GOP presidential debate in August 2015, comparing the infighting on the stage to the bickering in “Mean Girls.”

#14. GOP Debate #2, Part 1

Donald Trump is Gilly from SNL#GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/nc11zIHMn3

— Brett S. Vergara (@BrettSVergara) September 17, 2015

Comparing Donald Trump facial expressions to just about anything will help score you a win in the battle for top Twitter snark.

#13. GOP Debate #2, Part 2

Is CNN just trying to make them debate until one of them drops out? Is this like the Hunger Games? #CNNDebate

— Jessica Taylor (@JessicaTaylor) September 17, 2015

A political reporter at NPR chimed in on the length of the second Republican primary debate in September 2015. The three hours of back-and-forth on CNN was bemoaned by just about everyone.

#12. Democratic Debate #1, Part 1

At the request of many, and even though I expect it to be a very boring two hours, I will be covering the Democrat Debate live on twitter!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 13, 2015

Before the Democrats’ first primary debate in October 2015, Donald Trump managed to inform and insult in one Twitter-friendly sentence.

#11. Democratic Debate #1, Part 2

Can anyone imagine Chafee as president? No way.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 14, 2015

Post Democratic debate, most political watchers agreed that Lincoln Chafee, a former senator and governor of Rhode Island, didn’t do so hot. Looks like The Donald did so in real time.

#10. Democratic Debate #1, Part 3

.@RealDonaldTrump – Any last-minute hairstyle advice for @BernieSanders before he takes the stage @ #DemDebate? #FeelTheBern #ImWithHuck

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) October 14, 2015

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee opted to live-tweet the Democratic primary debate on Oct. 13, 2015. The Republican presidential hopeful covers lots of bases here, name-checking Donald Trump and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and getting in on not one, not two but three hashtags.

#9. Democratic Debate #1, Part 4

They believe climate change is a greater threat than Islamic extremism, that a sunburn is worse than a beheading. It's nonsense! #DemDebate

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) October 14, 2015

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee weighed in on climate change and Islamic extremism, all in one tweet!

#8. Democratic Debate #1, Part 5

Poor liberals think it's racist to deplore a brutal dictatorship. #DemDebate https://t.co/ItkrFfMYiL

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) October 14, 2015

After a long night of live-tweeting the Democratic debate, former Gov. Mike Huckabee doubled down on a post many viewed as racist, retweeting the original post with another jab at liberals.

#7. Trump Calls Copycat!

I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. Huckabee copied me.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2015

This is a classic tweet from Donald Trump: arrogant, childish (“Huckabee copied me!”) and focused on issues dear to the hearts of GOP voters. And yes, the businessman-turned-presidential-candidate has popped up a lot on this list, but we kept a surprising number of tweets out of this collection (for those of you wanting more Trump tweets, never fear: InsideGov gathered The Donald’s best tweets right here).

#6. Joe Hearts Ice Cream

This might be the greatest photo of all time pic.twitter.com/vqy3tFqsna

— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) October 9, 2014

In this tweet, political reporter Lachlan Markay articulates what everyone is thinking: This picture of Vice President Joe Biden in aviators paying for a giant ice cream cone he’s already enjoying is a contender for best photo ever. For those wanting more Joe and ice cream pics (and willing to switch up social media accounts), there’s an entire Tumblr dedicated to the subject.

#5. #HillarysLosers

You didnt think it could get worse than your book tour? It did. Courtesy of the U.S. voters: https://t.co/kGAZVFq7ze pic.twitter.com/zABFStFM67

— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) November 5, 2014

After the 2014 midterm elections netted Republicans plenty of wins in the House and Senate, Sen. Rand Paul trolled hard on Twitter, creating a series of photos of Hillary Clinton with losing Democrats, all branded with the hashtag #HillarysLosers. At the time, the Kentucky Republican wasn’t yet an official presidential candidate, but he had been flirting with a White House run for years.

#4. W. and Jeb! vs. Trump

How pathetic for @realdonaldtrump to criticize the president for 9/11. We were attacked & my brother kept us safe.

— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) October 16, 2015

No @JebBush, you’re pathetic for saying nothing happened during your brother’s term when the World Trade Center was attacked and came down.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2015

During a mid-October spat about who was to blame for the Sept. 11 attacks, Donald Trump and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush took turns calling each other “pathetic.” Reminder: Both of these gentlemen are running for president of the United States.

#3. W. and Jeb! vs. Trump, Round 2

The evidence is unfortunately mounting that George W is the smart one https://t.co/omImXuajs0

— James Fallows (@JamesFallows) October 16, 2015

James Fallows, a longtime writer at the Atlantic, chimed in on the September 11th blame game back and forth with a doozy of an insult aimed at former Gov. Jeb Bush.

#2. “No.”

The feeling when a GOP candidate says it's acceptable to be fired for being gay. https://t.co/cF9mw5k8fq pic.twitter.com/cYFvcW27mQ

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 14, 2015

After Sen. Rand Paul told a crowd in Iowa that gender identity protections don’t need to be added to antidiscrimination statutes, Hillary Clinton’s campaign created this gif’d response, riffing off a moment in the Democratic debate when Clinton got big laughs and applause.

#1. Bill and Barack

Good question, @billclinton. The handle comes with the house. Know anyone interested in @FLOTUS?

— President Obama (@POTUS) May 18, 2015

Former president Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama do a sassy back-and-forth as the former welcomes the latter onto Twitter, and the Internet loved it. Clinton’s original post was retweeted 89,576 times and favorited almost 120,000 times, while Obama’s response was retweeted 60,006 times and favorited 106,057 times.

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