White House joins TikTok – despite US ban looming
The White House set up a verified account on the Chinese platform on Tuesday, posting its first video of Trump clips with the caption: 'America, we are back! What's up TikTok?' A second video shows cuts of the White House building itself, while a third has pasted together some of Trump's snappiest reactions. The page's descriptor reads: 'Welcome to the Golden Age of America.' Not that the site's users appear to feel much warmth towards the account. Already the comments sections are filled up with anti-Trump images, remarks about the Epstein files and, um, confusion about why the account has been set up in the first place.
The Chinese-owned platform sparked alarm in the US after the FBI, amongst others, suggested the site could be used by the Chinese government to harvest data and interfere with social cohesion in America. The company has strongly denied these accusations, but that hasn't prevented US politicians from voting to ban it. Trump himself has gone on something of a journey with the site, however – first trying to outlaw TikTok during his first term before staging a volte face before last November's election and pledging to prevent a federal ban. After he won the 2024 election, Trump signed an executive order to put off the ban until April while his administration looked for someone to buy it. The President signed another extension, delaying the ban until 17 September. He admitted last year that he believes his presence on the site has helped him win over younger voters, remarking in December: 'I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok.' It's one method of strengthening US-China relations…
Trump's team have worked with social media giant Meta to push campaign material on Facebook, and the President even owns his own social media platform – his beloved Truth Social. Could this new account be a hint the social media savvy US leader may try and further delay a ban on TikTok?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump battles sinking public image over DC takeover while National Guard pose with tourists
resident Donald Trump's D.C. takeover is now well into its second week. Washingtonians are in agreement: they're officially sick of it. Wednesday dawned in the nation's capital with news of more chaos in the District of Columbia, this time indisputably caused by Trump's executive order — which the administration is increasingly finding it hard to prove is not a publicity stunt. More and more National Guard troops pour into the city from around the country, though arrests aren't going up, and most of the troops appear to be standing around snapping photos with tourists. In the early morning hours, an armored, mine-resistant tactical vehicle slammed into the side of a civilian vehicle, sending one person to the hospital. The crash occurred downtown, where federal agents and National Guard troops are increasingly piling up in high-traffic tourist areas. A morning report from Fox 5 quoted residents in the higher-crime area of Anacostia, in the city's southeast, saying that law enforcement resources weren't reaching them. Meanwhile, video after video shows bored federal agents patrolling luxury shopping and dining areas, or tourist destinations like the Washington Monument. As Vice President J.D. Vance and Trump adviser Stephen Miller arrived at a Shake Shack at Union Station — one of those low-crime areas where Guard troops have milled around aimlessly — for a meet-and-greet with a few visiting troops on Wednesday, the pair were loudly heckled by locals. Then they bizarrely accused the hecklers of having come from out of town to mock them. Around the city, graffiti appeared honoring a resident arrested after angrily tossing a Subway sandwich at federal law enforcement agents, a since-fired DOJ employee who has become a folk hero around town. 'I'll tell you, a couple of years ago, when I brought my kids here, they were being screamed at by violent vagrants, and it was scaring the hell out of my kids,' Vance said. He denied the validity of a comment from a reporter referring to the area as low crime, and again cited those 'vagrants' as evidence during his Q&A. Union Station is a major arrival point for many tourists in the capital and for many years has struggled with the attraction that the spacious transit center and shopping mall's public facilities provided for homeless D.C. residents. An encampment once existed a few steps from the station's front doors, and inside the station benches and other public amenities were removed in order to dissuade loitering. The Covid pandemic, which accelerated housing insecurity, also led to closures of Union Station businesses which traded reasons for their misfortune including a rise in homeless activity around the station. But vagrancy by itself is not a crime, and Vance's comments, combined with the increase in encampment sweeps around the city the past few days, suggest that Trump's crime-fighting campaign is actually a beautification campaign meant to push an aesthetic that isn't necessarily felt by D.C. residents with roots in the city. Polling shows that Americans who call the city home agree. A resounding eight in 10 D.C. residents told Washington Post pollsters in a survey released Wednesday that they opposed the federal takeover of the city, which is now being fought in the courts as city leaders try to retain control of the Metropolitan Police Department. A similar share, 78 percent, said that they felt extremely or somewhat safe in their own neighborhoods. While arrests aren't surging and city residents don't say they feel safer, it's very clear which community is being impacted the most. U.S. Park Police officials told the New York Post on Wednesday that the agency has cleared 75 homeless encampments around the city in just the short period since Trump announced his takeover. Washington social media channels remain alight with reports of activity from ICE and other federal agencies. Checkpoints have repeatedly been swarmed by hundreds of residents, shouting angrily, until law enforcement agencies pack up and leave. Week two of the takeover also coincided with DC's annual summer Restaurant Week, though dining spots around the city report that the presence of the Guard and federal agents are hurting business as reservations plunged year-over-year. While city leaders are largely paralyzed as they await decisions in the courts, there are already clear signs that this episode could backfire for the president. News channels and social media platforms continue to spread images and video depicting an occupied American city clearly in conflict with its new guests. The unpopularity of Trump's takeover could quickly become an issue in the Virginia governor's race, where a conservative diehard is running against a centrist Democrat with strong DC ties. It's also energized the progressive left, long dormant in city politics thanks to the populations of federal workers and transplants who have elected center-left leadership for years. On Tuesday evening, several hundred people attended the campaign launch of a democratic socialist candidate running for city council, Aparna Raj. In the end, Donald Trump may accomplish little more than juicing up the American left's will to fight back.
BBC News
25 minutes ago
- BBC News
World Business Report Federal Reserve comes under pressure as interest rate decision looms
The Chair of the Federal Reserve chair are under scrutiny from Donald Trump after fraud allegations emerge about Governor Lisa Cook. How will it affect the interest rate decision? The authorities in Pakistan's commercial capital Karachi have declared an emergency and a public holiday after monsoon rains paralysed the city. We hear from the local business owner. Sony PlayStation increased the price on its console. Is it one of the consequences of the trade war? And we look at Denmark's decision to tax cow and sheep burps for greenhouse gas reasons. You can contact us on WhatsApp or send us a voicenote: +44 330 678 3033.
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Ukraine's 'Iron General' refutes rumours he is 'quietly preparing to run for president' to replace Zelensky
Ukraine 's ambassador to the UK on Wednesday denied rumours he 'is quietly preparing a run for President' from his London HQ should peace break out. General Valerii Zaluzhnyi's team were forced to play down the claims stating that 'there is no talk of any campaign headquarters'. It followed posts by a journalist that 'his HQ is already active in London and recruitment is underway'. They claimed sources had told them his campaign had 'effectively begun' after Volodymyr Zelensky told Donald Trump that elections may be coming soon. Zaluzhnyi, known affectionately as the Iron General, would be a front-runner to defeat Mr Zelensky as he is remembered fondly for marshalling the heroic defence of Kyiv in 2022. He was then replaced by Oleksandr Syrskyi as Commander-in-Chief and sidelined as Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK in July last year. Freelance journalist Katie Livingstone said sources had told her the Ukrainian opposition MP Viktoria Siumar would run any campaign with former BBC Ukraine reporter Oksana Torop handling his press. Kyiv Post Correspondent Jason Jay Smart said he had confirmed the claims, adding: 'Sources indicate that he gave the go-ahead to his team, over a month ago, to start planning his campaign.' But Ms Torop last night denied the rumours. She told the New Voice of Ukraine: 'There is no talk of any campaign headquarters. 'Valerii Zaluzhnyi has stated his position more than once, and as far as I know, it has not changed: while the war continues, we need to work to preserve the country, not think about elections.' Zaluzhnyi is Ukraine's most trusted public figure with recent polling finding 73 per cent of Ukrainians trust him compared with 67 per cent for Zelensky.
