Trump's White House Joins TikTok

New York Times

a day ago

President Trump has started an official White House account on TikTok, deepening his ties with the Chinese-owned social media company as he repeatedly declines to enforce a federal law that would ban the company's app because of national security concerns.
The first post by @WhiteHouse on TikTok — showing Mr. Trump at various events while dramatic music plays — referenced a viral video on the social media site that featured footage from the movie 'Creed' and music by the rapper Kendrick Lamar.
The White House's embrace of TikTok continues a remarkable turnabout for Mr. Trump, who tried to ban the platform in his first term. Mr. Trump created a personal account in June 2024, and his popularity on the app soared amid his effort to court TikTok's predominantly younger voters.
Donors to Mr. Trump and the company's executives have also undertaken a lobbying effort to prevent TikTok from going dark in the United States. Mr. Trump's return to TikTok — the last post on his personal account was on Election Day — is the latest sign that he has little intention of enforcing the national security ban on the app.
The ban stemmed from a 2024 law that requires app stores and cloud computing providers to stop distributing or hosting TikTok unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. A bipartisan coalition in Congress passed the law over concerns that the Chinese government could use the app to gather information about Americans or spread propaganda.
After drawing a devoted following on TikTok that supported his successful re-election bid, the president-elect threw the app an unexpected lifeline in its quest to continue operating in the United States. Hours after the federal law banning the app took effect in the final days of the Biden administration, Mr. Trump said that he would issue an executive order to delay the enforcement of the ban.
The law has a section allowing Mr. Trump to grant a 90-day extension if a buyer is found, but only if there is 'significant progress' toward a deal that puts TikTok in the hands of a non-Chinese company. Mr. Trump made several additional extensions anyway. TikTok has until mid-September to find a new owner, but Mr. Trump could grant another extension.