The White House launched a TikTok account on Tuesday, less than one month before the deadline to ban the app.
The new account has several videos prominently featuring President Donald Trump, including montages of the president from previous rallies. Trump controversially launched a 2024 campaign TikTok account, but didn’t join following his November victory.
The first video on the account is captioned, “America we are BACK! What’s up TikTok?”
“Every day, I wake up determined to deliver a better life for the people all across this nation. I am your voice,” Trump says in a voice-over in one video.
“MUST FOLLOW ON TIKTOK,” the White House’s Rapid Response account said in a post on X.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt justified the decision by saying that the account was intended to communicate Trump’s accomplishments.
“The Trump administration is committed to communicating the historic successes President Trump has delivered to the American people with as many audiences and platforms as possible,” she said.
“President Trump’s message dominated TikTok during his presidential campaign, and we’re excited to build upon those successes and communicate in a way no other administration has before,” Leavitt added.
After trying to ban TikTok in 2020, Trump changed his tune after his campaign saw the app’s ability to reach young voters. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order instructing the Department of Justice not to enforce the TikTok ban after it briefly went into effect. The first extension was in place for 75 days to buy time for more negotiations to find a new buyer, followed by another 75-day extension in April. On June 19, Trump signed another extension for 90 days. The current deadline is Sept. 17.
Under the law, Chinese company ByteDance must sell TikTok to a U.S.-based buyer if it wishes to continue operating in the United States.
In a June interview with Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, Trump mentioned as an aside, while discussing broader trade deals, that he had finally found a buyer for TikTok. When asked who, Trump replied that he would reveal the buyer “in about two weeks.”
“I think I’ll need … probably China’s approval, and I think President Xi will probably do it,” Trump said.
“Very, very wealthy people, it’s a group of very wealthy people,” he added before changing the subject.
TRUMP EXPANDS TIKTOK BAN DEADLINE FOR A THIRD TIME
However, the deal apparently fell through, as two weeks passed without mention of a new buyer.
Trump’s repeated deadline extensions have frustrated congressional Republicans, who are worried about the app’s national security implications.
