Former President Donald Trump has made a splash on TikTok, quickly becoming a major presence on the platform. Within just a few hours after launching his account at an event, Trump’s first TikTok video, captured at the Ultimate Fighting Championship 302 in New Jersey, amassed over 22 million views. Additionally, he has attracted more than 1.1 million followers by Sunday morning.
Announcing Trump’s TikTok debut, UFC President Dana White exclaimed in a 13-second video, “The president is now on TikTok.” To which Trump, aged 77, responded during a video montage of him interacting with fans, “It’s my honor.”
This move is particularly notable considering Trump’s previous attempts to ban the Chinese video-sharing app in the US during his presidency. Despite his initial resistance, the app still faces a deadline to sell its US operations or risk being banned, following a bipartisan bill passed by Congress in April.
Trump had previously issued an executive order in 2020 to block TikTok, citing national security concerns. However, his order was overturned by the courts. By March of this year, Trump’s stance seemed to have softened. He contended that while TikTok might pose security threats, banning the app would only benefit Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
In an April post on Truth Social, Trump accused President Joe Biden of pushing for TikTok’s ban to benefit his “friends over at Facebook” and make them “richer and more dominant,” allegedly to the detriment of the Republican Party.
Following the events of January 6, 2021, Trump was temporarily banned from major social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (now X), but has since been reinstated. During his time off these platforms, Trump primarily engaged with his followers through Truth Social, a platform he founded.
Meanwhile, GOP megadonor Jeff Yass, who holds a substantial stake in TikTok’s parent company ByteDance through his fund, has been reported to lobby against anti-TikTok measures, possibly influencing Trump’s changed perspective on the app.
On the other hand, President Biden, who has also launched a TikTok account, continues his campaign on the platform aiming to engage young voters. A bipartisan divestment bill passed recently by Congress mandates ByteDance to divest TikTok within about nine months or face a US ban.
TikTok, with a self-reported user base of over 170 million in the US, has pledged to fiercely contest this legislation. Despite being headquartered in Singapore and Los Angeles, TikTok’s ties to Beijing through ByteDance have raised concerns about data privacy and security.
Recently, Donald Trump Jr. also joined TikTok, posting about El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s inauguration. Last Thursday, Trump made history as the first former president to be convicted of a felony, related to a hush-money case in Manhattan, with 34 counts against him. He has denied all charges and plans to appeal. His sentencing is scheduled for July 11, shortly before the Republican National Convention.