TikTok, which has been under criticism from Washington for its supposed links to China, has pulled off a significant coup with the arrival of Donald Trump on the app
The presumed Republican nominee’s first video, which he broadcast at the Ultimate Fighting Championship 302 in New Jersey, had more than 32 million views in a couple of hours.
Trump decided to sign up for TikTok in an attempt to connect with prospective voters in the lead-up to the November election, particularly younger ones.
This move follows hot on the heels at the time that the popular video app might be banned in the US if it doesn’t part ways with ByteDance, its Chinese owner.
“The president is now on TikTok,” UFC CEO Dana White said, introducing Trump in the video.
“It’s my honour,” Trump replied, as “American Bad Ass” by Kid Rock played in the background.
As part of his larger anti-China agenda, Trump heightened worries throughout his presidency on TikTok’s ties to China.
Trump attempted in vain to impose an executive order banning TikTok from the US, placing the app and its Chinese parent firm, ByteDance, at the centre of US tensions with China.
President Joe Biden and most legislators have shared Trump’s worries.
However, Trump has now stated that he is against a national TikTok ban, claiming that it will just polarise youth and help Meta.
“The campaign is playing on all fields,” said an adviser to Trump’s campaign, granted anonymity to speak freely.
“Being able to do outreach on multiple platforms and outlets is important and this is just one of many ways we’re going to reach out to voters. TikTok skews towards a younger audience.”
We earlier reported that ByteDance has stated that it has no plans to sell the company in the wake of a US law that requires it to sell the immensely popular video app or face bans in the US.
