It started out as a ludicrous proposition in a simple, goofy tweet. Would Americans embrace a new and nefarious way of annoying numbers-obsessed president Donald Trump—by following half an onion in a plastic bag on Twitter until it has more followers than him?
What if this account that is simply half an onion in a Ziploc bag ended up with more followers than @realDonaldTrump? pic.twitter.com/D28lODPZLO
— Half An Onion (@HalfOnionInABag) January 20, 2017
It's been six days since that tweet, and Half an Onion has already gotten a pretty staggering response. It's up to 614,000 followers as of this writing—far short of Trump's 22.2 million, but impressive for an otherwise undistinguished piece of produce.
Its 43 tweets so far have been all comedy, tweaking Trump on everything from his tax returns to his cabinet to his allegedly tiny hands.
For the record, I'm not gonna show you my tax returns either because, well...I'm a half-used piece of produce in a bag. Not the president.
— Half An Onion (@HalfOnionInABag) January 25, 2017
When you realize you would've been better off married to half an onion in a plastic bag: pic.twitter.com/GsjZKDxoRz
— Half An Onion (@HalfOnionInABag) January 24, 2017
Still a better cabinet than @realDonaldTrump's. pic.twitter.com/E5WAx0vGvy
— Half An Onion (@HalfOnionInABag) January 24, 2017
Just curious @realDonaldTrump, is it difficult to peel an onion with such tiny hands?
— Half An Onion (@HalfOnionInABag) January 22, 2017
I won't clog your feeds. I'm just here to get more followers than @realDonaldTrump& then hopefully be used on a hamburger or in an omelet.
— Half An Onion (@HalfOnionInABag) January 20, 2017
Suspecting the anonymous creator of Half an Onion might work in the creative industries, we reached out to them over email. They replied that, yes, they work in the "digital space," run their own site and have "a pretty decent social media following."
Beyond that, they want to remain anonymous, at least for now. But they were willing to answer some other questions from AdFreak, as you can see below.