White House shares a peak of SOTU prep

Jan. 19, 2015, 4:06 PM UTC / Updated Jan. 19, 2015, 5:08 PM UTC

By Abby Borovitz, Abby Borovitz

As President Obama’s sixth State of The Union address nears, the White House is looking to build momentum for the national address.

For the second year in a row, White House staffers are taking over the @WhiteHouse Instagram account, using hashtag #InsideSOTU, to share a sneak peek of how the Obama administration is preparing for Tuesday evening.

Brian Deese, the Deputy Director of the Office of Management, began the social media push on Friday when he took over the Instagram account in order to give White House followers a glimpse into how the national address comes together.

Hey, everyone! I'm Brian Deese, the Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget. I'll be taking over the White House Instagram account today to give you a behind-the-scenes look at what we're doing to prepare for President Obama's State of the Union address. Here I am looking at the latest draft of the speech, after coming back from a morning of meetings on Capitol Hill. You're going to want to tune in Tuesday night at 9pm ET at WH.gov/SOTU. #InsideSOTU –Deese

A photo posted by The White House (@whitehouse) on Jan 16, 2015 at 11:52am PST

Just got out of a State of the Union meeting in the West Wing with Jason Furman, the Chairman of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers. We had a great conversation with members of President Obama's Cabinet about the issues he'll address in the speech. #InsideSOTU -Deese

A photo posted by The White House (@whitehouse) on Jan 16, 2015 at 4:51pm PST

Most people at the White House have boring-looking briefing books, but mine is one of my prized possessions. That's because my daughter painted it when she was 19 months old (she's two now). I just love it. Thanks for following along today and taking a look #InsideSOTU! Be sure to tune in to the State of the Union on Tuesday night at 9pm ET at WH.gov/SOTU. -Deese

A photo posted by The White House (@whitehouse) on Jan 16, 2015 at 8:22pm PST

Hi, everybody! It's Fiona Reeves, the Director of Presidential Correspondence. It's my turn to take over the White House Instagram today to show you how your letters to the President are helping us prepare for his State of the Union. Every day my office receives thousands of letters, and every night the President personally reads 10 of them. It's one of the ways he can hear directly from Americans about their lives. Here I am yesterday assembling the last 10 letters the President will see before his address in our "Oval Office" folder. You'll want to watch Tuesday night at 9pm ET at wh.gov/SOTU. #InsideSOTU -Fiona

A photo posted by The White House (@whitehouse) on Jan 17, 2015 at 8:24am PST

This week, one of the volunteers in my office gave me this candid note from a kid who made us all smile about the upcoming "long boring speech." When I included it in the group of letters the President read this past Wednesday, he wrote on the front that he wanted to respond and keep a copy of it! Thanks for following along today and taking a look #InsideSOTU. Make sure you tune in to the State of the Union on Tuesday night at 9pm ET at wh.gov/SOTU. -Fiona

A photo posted by The White House (@whitehouse) on Jan 17, 2015 at 6:46pm PST

By letter and by email, Americans write in every day about the issues that affect them and their families. Here's our team reading and sorting letters this week in the lead up to the State of the Union. #InsideSOTU -Fiona

Une photo publiée par The White House (@whitehouse) le Janv. 17, 2015 at 9:43 PST

President Obama's working on his State of the Union address right now. Tune in Tuesday at 9pm ET at WH.gov/SOTU. #SOTU

A photo posted by The White House (@whitehouse) on Jan 18, 2015 at 1:52pm PST