Megan Coyne (born 1997 or 1998) is an American Democratic political communications specialist.[1][2][3] She currently serves as the White House Deputy Director of Platforms, where she manages the Twitter account for the White House.[2] Previously working for the government of New Jersey, she ran social media accounts including those of the state government and governor Phil Murphy.[2][4][5]
Megan Coyne | |
|---|---|
 Megan Coyne interviewed by Adweek in 2022 | |
| Born | July 5, 1997 New Jersey, US |
| Alma mater | Rutgers University (BA) |
| Occupation | Deputy Platforms Director |
| Employer | The White House |
| Political party | Democratic |
Coyne is a native of Livingston, New Jersey. She graduated from Rutgers University with a bachelor's degree in political science in 2019.[4]
Early life and education
editBorn and raised in New Jersey, Coyne is a native of Livingston, New Jersey, and is a graduate of Livingston High School.[2] After her graduation from high school, she enrolled at Rutgers University. She became active in the Rutgers chapter of College Democrats and was elected president of the College Democrats of New Jersey in 2018, becoming the state group's first female president.[6] She graduated from Rutgers with a bachelor's degree in political science in 2019.[4][7]
Career
editNew Jersey
editIn 2017, Coyne began her involvement in statewide New Jersey politics as an intern for the 2017 gubernatorial campaign of Phil Murphy, who would later become the Governor of New Jersey. Throughout much of 2018 and 2019, Coyne worked in Murphy's administration as a communications intern, before becoming a full-time member of the governor's communications staff in 2019 following her graduation from Rutgers University.[2]
As a full-time staff member in the Office of the Governor, Coyne was one of the two people to run the New Jersey state Twitter account, shaping the account's posting into a mix of internet memes and official information.[4] Coyne became widely recognized among Democrats, owing to the account's viral tweets and its poignant persona.[1] Under her tenure, the New Jersey state Twitter account grew substantially and became the largest official Twitter account of any U.S. state.[8]
White House
editIn August 2022, Coyne left her role in New Jersey to serve as the White House Deputy Director of Platforms, where she manages the Twitter account for the White House.[2] Shortly thereafter, several U.S. representatives tweeted in opposition to Biden's student loan forgiveness program; the White House account responded by quote tweeting the representatives and noting how much each individual representative received in PPP loan forgiveness. One user remarked that the White House had gone "goblin mode", as the account's new manager, Coyne was speculated to be behind the tweets. The White House has not confirmed that rumor, although Buzzfeed News reported that Coyne retweeted a screenshot of the trending incident with a ":)".[9]
References
edit- ^ a b Abutaleb, Yasmeen (August 26, 2022). "The Biden White House gets feisty on Twitter". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Wildstein, David (August 26, 2022). "Megan Coyne, the voice of New Jersey, is headed to the White House". New Jersey Globe.
- ^ Quinn, Liam (August 26, 2022). "White House Twitter thread trolling Republicans features a New Jersey flair". The Record.
- ^ a b c d Gold, Michael (February 19, 2020). "'Hi Haters': Why New Jersey's Twitter Account Is Like No Other". The New York Times.
- ^ Wildstein, David (February 25, 2022). "Murphy announces promotions, hires on communications staff". New Jersey Globe.
- ^ Wildstein, David (April 7, 2018). "Coyne elected NJ College Democratic president". New Jersey Globe.
- ^ "Who gave Megan Coyne a new job? The White House" (Press release). Roi-NJ. August 2, 2022.
Coyne, a Livingston native, received a degree in political science from Rutgers University–New Brunswick in 2019.
- ^ Sacharow, Fredda (February 11, 2020). "Rutgers Grad Helps Put the Jersey in @NJGov Twitter Account". Rutgers Today. Rutgers University.
- ^ Weekman, Kelsey (August 26, 2022). "You can thank the woman behind the hilarious New Jersey Twitter account for the punchy White House tweets". Buzzfeed News. Retrieved August 30, 2022.