After criticizing and seeking a ban on Tik Tok, Former President Donald Trump has made a surprising move by joining the social media platform. He once sought to ban on national security grounds during his presidency. In 2020, Trump signed an executive order aiming to prohlibit the app due to its connections to China, though this attempt was ultimately blocked by U.S. courts.
Trump has gained over 3.6 million followers since he created his account on Saturday. He stated that he intends to use "every tool available to speak directly with the American people." His rapid accumulation of followers starkly contrasts with President Joe Biden, who has amassed 340,000 followers while using TikTok as part of his re-election campaign.
President Biden recently signed a bill requiring TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to divest from the app within nine months or face a U.S. ban. This law, aimed at addressing concerns over potential data sharing with the Chinese government, has taken many of the app's estimated 170 million U.S. users by surprise. However, ByteDance has consistently denied these allegations.
Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, said that Trump influence on younger voters and had "already gained significant ground with young voters and this is another way to reach them". Leavitt said that his presence on TikTok is "another way to reach them." Trump's first Tik Tok video in which he is seen attending a mixed martial arts event, has already gained over 60 million views.
Although Trump had previously said that TikTok poses a national security risk, now he argues that banning the app would inadvertently strengthen Facebook, which he labeled as "an enemy of the people."
Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended after the January 6 Capitol riots but have since been reinstated. In 2022, he launched his own social media platform, Truth Social, where he holds a near-65% stake in its parent company, Trump Media.
