Former President Donald Trump joined TikTok Saturday night—the same app he tried to ban, unsuccessfully, via Executive Order in 2020.
Convicted in a New York court just last week on 34 felony counts for falsifying documents to cover up a hush money payment, the GOP presumptive nominee announced his arrival to the video platform with a 13-second clip filmed at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event in Newark, NJ.
“The president is now on TikTok,” UFC President Dana White opens up the video. “It’s my honor,” Trump replies before a montage of him meeting and posing with fans with Kid Rock’s American Bad Ass in the background.
In under 24 hours since posting, Trump’s official account has more than 2.1 million followers. The video has garnered over 36 million views, 82,000 comments, 116,000 saves, and 2.3 million likes.
“I AM WITNESSING HISTORY,” one commenter wrote with the prayer hands and crying emojis. “i’m so glad i get to vote for him. my first ever vote gonna be for the goat,” another shared. “Let make his account the most famous one on tik tok!” a user, whose profile photo features the Three Percenters logo, a militia movement with a history of criminal activity, commented. At least seven people associated with the Three Percenters were indicted for their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
President Joe Biden launched his campaign page on TikTok in February, @BidenHQ, which has 336.2 thousand followers and four and a half million likes—in total.
Trump received a warm welcome at the UFC event last night—an organization he’s had ties to for years. But at least one UFC fan, New York Jets quarterback and almost-vice presidential candidate for the independent ticket Aaron Rodgers, appeared to snub the former president. While many clamored to shake Trump’s hand as he walked by, Rodgers stayed in his seat and did not acknowledge his attendance.
In April, Congress passed a bill that would force a sale of TikTok by its Chinese owner, ByteDance, or outright ban the app, which hosts about a third of U.S. adults. President Biden signed it the next day.
As president, Trump attempted to get rid of the app, citing national security concerns. Yet, earlier in this campaign cycle, Trump flip-flopped on the issue, blaming Biden for banning TikTok and claiming the president is “doing it to help his friends over at Facebook become richer and more dominant.”
To soften what was a rough reaction to Biden’s move from young voters, his administration has been courting popular TikTok creators. During a visit to The White House earlier this year, Biden told a group of influencers “Don’t jump, I need you!”
There’s a lot of young people on TikTok—around six in ten U.S. adults under 30—and both presumptive 2024 candidates know this. Controversy over the app’s potential ban has been at the center of this election cycle.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said it will leave “no front undefended” in its efforts to reach younger voters. “This represents the continued outreach to a younger audience consuming pro-Trump and anti-Biden content.”
While the majority of people who say they get their news from TikTok identify as Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents, the New York Times reports that since November, there have been nearly twice as many pro-Trump posts as pro-Biden ones on the platform.
Trump closed out his first official TikTok by leaning close to the camera, saying, “That was a good walk on, right?”
