Former President Donald Trump has joined TikTok, the popular social media platform he once sought to ban on national security grounds during his presidency. Despite signing a presidential executive order in 2020 to ban the platform due to its links to China—a move ultimately blocked by US courts—Trump has now embraced TikTok to connect with his audience.
Trump has quickly gained more than 3.6 million followers. His first TikTok video, a 13-second clip of him attending a mixed martial arts event, has already been viewed over 60 million times. Trump stated that he will use every tool available to speak directly with the American people.”
This move comes as President Joe Biden also utilizes the platform to campaign for re-election in November. However, Biden has garnered only 340,000 followers, a stark contrast to Trump’s impressive following.
In a surprising turn of events, President Biden recently signed into law a bill that requires ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese owner, to divest the app within nine months or face a ban in the US.
The law was introduced amid concerns that TikTok might share user data with the Chinese government, allegations that ByteDance has consistently denied. This decision has left TikTok’s estimated 170 million US users uncertain about the app’s future.
Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, told in a report that the former president had already gained significant ground with young voters, and this is another way to reach them.”
Trump’s entry into TikTok follows his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to efforts to conceal hush-money payments to adult film performer Stormy Daniels.
Despite acknowledging in a March interview with CNBC that TikTok poses a national security risk, Trump argued that banning the app would only strengthen Facebook, which he referred to as an enemy of the people along with a lot of the media.”
Following the US Capitol riots on January 6, 2021, Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended, but they have since been reinstated. In 2022, Trump launched his own social media platform, Truth Social, where he holds a near-65% stake in its parent company, Trump Media.
As both Trump and Biden leverage TikTok to engage with voters, the platform’s role in the upcoming election continues to grow, despite ongoing concerns and legal challenges surrounding its ownership and data privacy practices.
For users concerned about privacy and security while using TikTok, opting for the best VPN for TikTok can help protect personal data and ensure a safer online experience.
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