Trump's White House joins TikTok after ban rant
President Donald Trump started an official White House account on TikTok on Tuesday, 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 Trump at various events while dramatic music plays - made reference to a viral video on the social media site that featured footage from the movie "Creed" and music by rapper Kendrick Lamar.
The White House's embrace of TikTok continues a remarkable turnabout for Trump, who tried to ban the platform in his first term. 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.
"President Trump's message dominated TikTok during his presidential campaign," Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a statement. "And we're excited to build upon those successes and communicate in a way no other administration has before."
Donors to Trump and the company's executives have undertaken a lobbying effort to prevent TikTok from going dark in the United States. 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 reelection 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, Trump said that he would issue an executive order to delay enforcement of the ban. The law has a section allowing 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. Trump made several additional extensions anyway. TikTok has until mid-September to find a new owner, but Trump could grant another extension.
(This article originally appeared in The New York Times)
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