Trump Joins TikTok And Calls It ‘An Honor.’ As President He Once Tried To Ban The Video-Sharing App

Donald Trump has joined the popular video-sharing app TikTok, which he once wanted to prohibit while in the White House, and recorded from a UFC fight two days after becoming the first former president and likely major party nominee in US history to be found guilty of felony charges.

“It’s an honor,” Trump remarked in the TikTok video, which shows him waving to fans and posing for pictures at the Ultimate Fighting Championship match in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday night. The video concludes with Trump telling the camera, “That was a good walk-on, right?”.

Trump| AP News Image

Trump Joins TikTok And Calls It ‘An Honor.’ As President He Once Tried To Ban The Video-Sharing App

By Sunday morning, Trump had over 1.1 million followers on the platform, with the post receiving over 1 million likes and 24 million views.

“We will leave no front undefended, and this represents continued outreach to a younger audience consuming pro-Trump and anti-Biden content,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in response to the campaign’s decision to join the site.

“There’s no place better than a UFC event to launch President Trump’s Tik Tok, where he received a hero’s welcome and thousands of fans cheered him on,” he said.

Democratic President Joe Biden signed legislation in April that could ban TikTok in the United States, despite his campaign joining in February and attempting to collaborate with influencers.

Trump was greeted enthusiastically at the event at Newark’s Prudential Center, where the crowd chanted, “We love Trump!” and one person insulted Biden with an expletive.

It was Trump’s first public appearance since a jury in New York found him guilty Thursday on 34 counts of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election by concealing hush money payments made to a porn performer who said she and Trump had sex. Trump has claimed he did nothing wrong and intends to appeal the ruling. He’ll be sentenced on July 11.

Trump | AP news Image

Trump Joins TikTok And Calls It ‘An Honor.’ As President He Once Tried To Ban The Video-Sharing App

Throughout his campaign, Trump has utilized appearances at UFC fights to present a strong image and to appeal to potential voters who may not be familiar with politics or traditional news sources. It is also part of a larger push to engage young people and minority voters, notably Latino and Black men.

TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, provides another option to contact potential voters. The site has over 170 million users in the United States, the majority of whom are younger—a group that is particularly difficult for marketers to target because they avoid television.

As president, Trump attempted to ban TikTok via executive order, claiming that “the spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned” by Chinese corporations posed a national security threat. TikTok filed a lawsuit, and the courts stopped the action.

Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have warned that ByteDance may disclose user data, including browsing history, location, and biometric identifiers, to China’s government. TikTok stated that it has never done so and will not if asked.

During the 2024 GOP primary campaign, the platform was a hotly debated topic, with most contenders avoiding it. Many, including former Vice President Mike Pence, have asked for TikTok to be outlawed in the United States owing to its connections with China.

Trump stated earlier this year that he still feels TikTok poses a national security risk, but he is opposed to banning it since it would benefit its competitor, Facebook, which he continues to bash following his 2020 loss to Biden.

“Frankly, a lot of people on TikTok enjoy it. “There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who would go crazy without it,” Trump told CNBC.

The measure approved by Biden gives ByteDance nine months to sell the company, with an additional three months if a transaction is in the works. If not, TikTok will be banned. Biden blocked the app from most government devices in December 2022.

His reelection campaign does, however, utilize the app, which it joined on Super Bowl night in February. Aides say that in an increasingly fragmented modern media environment, the campaign must reach voters across as many channels as possible, including TikTok, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Biden’s “bidenhq” account now has over 330,000 followers and 4.5 million likes.

Trump’s participation at Saturday’s fight followed an interview with Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” that aired Sunday.

In that appearance, Trump claimed he was “OK” with the thought of possible jail or house detention, saying it was “the way it is.”

Trump | AP News Image

Trump Joins TikTok And Calls It ‘An Honor.’ As President He Once Tried To Ban The Video-Sharing App

However, he warned that the public might not accept such a punishment for a former president seeking reelection.

“I don’t know if the public would tolerate it, you know. I’m not sure the public would accept it,” he replied. “I think it would be difficult for the public to accept. You know, there comes a time when something has to give.”

Trump maintained his innocence throughout the trial, claiming he “did absolutely nothing wrong.”

He was asked how his wife, former First Lady Melania Trump, handles the news.

“She is fine.” But it’s quite difficult for her. I mean, she is fine. But, you know, she has to read all this nonsense,” he explained.

She did not accompany Trump to court at any stage during his seven-week trial.

SOURCE – (AP)