In a surprising move, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump joined TikTok on Saturday, attracting a staggering 3 million followers within roughly a day.
The former president, who had previously sought to ban the platform on national security grounds during his presidency, is now utilizing it as a strategic tool to engage with younger voters in his third bid for the White House.
Trump's entry onto the short video social media platform marks a significant shift in his campaign strategy.
The decision to join TikTok could help Trump connect with a demographic that is increasingly influential in political discourse.
This comes as he faces a close race with Democratic incumbent Joe Biden ahead of the November 5 presidential election.
Biden's campaign is already active on TikTok, boasting over 340,000 followers.
Notably, Biden has signed a bill that would ban the app, which is used by 170 million Americans, unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, divests it.
ByteDance is currently challenging this law in courts, arguing that it has taken substantial measures to protect U.S. user data and ensure privacy.
Trump's first post on his new account, @realdonaldtrump, was a launch video that went live on Saturday night. The video, which has already garnered more than 56 million views, features Trump greeting fans at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event in Newark, New Jersey. In a statement, Trump expressed his intent to "use every tool available to speak directly with the American people."
The White House has maintained its stance on ending Chinese-based ownership of TikTok due to national security concerns. TikTok, however, has insisted that it does not share U.S. user data with the Chinese government and has implemented significant privacy protections.
Trump's previous attempt to ban TikTok in 2020 was blocked by the courts. In March, Trump reiterated his view that the platform poses a national security threat but also acknowledged that a ban could negatively impact young people and potentially bolster Meta Platforms' Facebook, a company he has frequently criticized.
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