Former President Trump made a grand entrance onto the popular social media platform TikTok over the weekend, quickly amassing a following that surpassed even the Biden campaign’s in less than 24 hours.
The first video from Trump and his team made its debut on TikTok on Saturday night. In the video, the former president appeared alongside Dana White, the President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), during a thrilling UFC title fight in New Jersey.
The video begins with White excitedly announcing, “The President has joined TikTok,” and Trump responding, “I am honored.” In the 13-second clip that follows, Trump is seen entering the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., where he warmly greets fans and other attendees.
In less than 15 hours, as of Sunday at 2 p.m., the video received over 2.3 million likes and 38 million views. Trump’s account gained over 2.2 million followers, which is more than six times the number of followers on the Biden-Harris HQ account that was started in February.
During his presidency, Trump made efforts to ban TikTok through an executive order with the intention of pressuring its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, into selling its U.S. assets. However, this order was subsequently blocked by the court.
In a surprising turn of events, Trump took a stand against the recent attempts to ban TikTok this year. He argued that such a ban would actually favor Facebook, the platform that had banned him in January 2021 following the Capitol riots. Instead, he shifted the blame onto President Biden, as legislation to potentially prohibit the app progressed through Congress and reached the president’s desk. This move came amidst mounting concerns about national security, given the app’s connections to China.
In late April, President Biden wasted no time and swiftly signed the bill, which set a clear deadline for ByteDance to either sell the app or risk being banned from U.S. app stores and networks.
Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., recently joined TikTok with the handle @MAGA. Since its launch, the account has gained over 17,000 followers and has received more than 176,000 likes as of Sunday.
“MAGA INC is determined to retain its presence on every platform and will not give in to Joe Biden and the Democrats’ efforts to undermine our nation,” declared Taylor Budowich, the CEO of MAGA Inc., when discussing the super PAC’s recent entry into TikTok. “We are committed to spreading President Trump’s America First agenda throughout the internet and all across the country.”
Joining the platform could be seen as an effort to connect with younger voters before the upcoming November election, as Trump and Biden are currently polling closely.
“We are committed to defending every front, and this initiative is part of our ongoing efforts to reach out to a younger audience who consumes pro-Trump and anti-Biden content. The UFC event serves as the perfect platform to kickstart President Trump’s TikTok presence, as he received an enthusiastic reception and was cheered on by thousands of fans,” stated Steven Cheung, spokesperson for the Trump campaign, in a statement to The Hill.
According to Cheung, the video he shared quickly went viral, accumulating 40 million views within a few hours. Additionally, he has gained 2.5 million followers since its release.
According to a polling index by The Hill and Decision Desk HQ, Trump has managed to maintain a narrow lead of 1.5 points over Biden at a national level, despite the increasing number of legal disputes.
Just days after being convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York, Donald Trump, the first former U.S. president to become a convicted felon, has launched his own social media platform.
The charges revolve around reimbursements made to Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer and attorney, for a payment he made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels as hush money.
He is scheduled to receive his sentence on July 11, just four days prior to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Trump’s legal team has made a firm commitment to appeal the case, but in the meantime, the proceedings will continue as planned.
