WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s first tweet of 2019 is a happy New Year message for all, unlike 2018 when he targeted Pakistan in his first tweet.

But even his New Year message was not free of derision and mockery that Mr Trump often uses in his tweets.

“Happy New Year to everyone, including the haters and the fake news media,” he wrote.

Mr Trump promised his supporters that “2019 will be a fantastic year for those not suffering from trump derangement syndrome. Just calm down and enjoy the ride, great things are happening for our country!”

He released the tweet at 5:08am on the day of the New Year and by midday, it had been already retweeted by 28,000 people and liked by about 114,000 of his supporters.

By 7:32am, Mr Trump was back in his attacking mood, targeting a former commander of US and foreign forces in Afghanistan, Stanley McChrystal for questioning his honesty and morality.

In a television interview on Sunday, General McChrystal questioned Mr Trump’s plan to withdraw half of the 14,000 US troops from Afghanistan.

“General McChrystal got fired like a dog by Obama. Last assignment a total bust. Known for big, dumb mouth. Hillary lover!” Mr Trump wrote.

After 34 years in the US Army, General McChrystal was forced to resign in 2010 by former president Barack Obama after a Rolling Stone article quoted members of his staff as criticising the Obama team.

As President Trump released a series of tweets on the first day of the year, the US media recalled that when elected, he had promised to stop tweeting.

Yet, in 2018, he sent out 2,883 tweets, versus 2,227 in 2017. Of these, 1,721 were promotional and 1162 were attacks.

Regularly repeating his pledge to “Make America Great Again,” Mr Trump also used the tweets for hurling epithets like “Horseface” and “Little Adam Schitt”.

On Aug 29, his most prolific day of the year, Mr Trump fired off a stunning 22 original tweets.

Mr Trump released his first ever tweet on May 4, 2009, urging his friends to watch him on Late Night with David Letterman.

President Trump’s first tweet of 2018 was about Pakistan, saying its leaders have given the US “nothing but lies & deceit” while “the United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years.”

Pakistan responded to Mr Trump the same day, reminding him that Pakistan had “given free to US: land & air communication, military bases & intel cooperation that decimated Al-Qaeda over last 16yrs, but they have given us nothing but invective & mistrust.”

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2019