Former US President Donald Trump has stirred up a social media storm by joining TikTok, the video-sharing app he once sought to ban, marking a significant win for the platform that is fighting for its survival in Washington.
On Saturday, Trump posted a launch video on a verified account, depicting him waving to fans at an event he attended in Newark, New Jersey.
“The president is now on TikTok,” UFC CEO Dana White said, introducing Trump in the video.
“It’s my honour,” Trump replied.
Trump’s decision to join TikTok has been viewed as a calculated move to engage potential voters, particularly the younger demographic, in the run-up to the election scheduled for November.
An adviser to Trump’s campaign, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that TikTok attracts a predominantly younger audience, which the team views as crucial for capturing this demographic.
“Being able to do outreach on multiple platforms and outlets is important and this is just one of many ways we’re going to reach out to voters,” he said.
Trump’s new TikTok account has been activated amidst the app’s uncertain future in the U.S. It faces a looming threat of a ban unless it separates from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
President Joe Biden signed a law in April that compels ByteDance to sell TikTok within a year or face a ban on U.S. app stores.
During his presidency, Trump also sought to ban the app from the U.S. market over national security concerns. However, this endeavour was ultimately blocked by federal courts.
Recently, the former President has had a change of opinion and now opposes the TikTok legislation signed by Biden. He argues that banning the app would alienate young Americans and benefit Meta, Facebook’s owner, which suspended him after the 2021 Capitol riot.
“There’s a lot of good and there’s a lot of bad with TikTok,” Trump recently told CNBC.
“But the thing I don’t like is that without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people along with a lot of the media.
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