The White House joins TikTok

The White House has been busy this week, er, setting up a TikTok account, despite plans to ban the app in just under a month over security concerns. The profile has so far posted three videos and amassed 116,700 followers. Make the most of it while we’ve got it, eh?

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 Congress 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 September 17th. 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 has 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?