Former President Donald Trump has now joined TikTok, the popular video-sharing social media app he once tried to ban as president.
"It's my honor," Trump said in his first post alongside Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White. Set to a Kid Rock song, the TikTok features clips of Trump waving to fans and posing for pictures while at the UFC 302 mixed martial arts event Saturday night in Newark, New Jersey.
As of Monday morning, the video had already received more than 62 million views. Trump's account has also gained 3.7 million followers — 10 times more than the 345,000 people following the Biden campaign's "Biden-Harris HQ" account.
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During his time as president, Trump made several attempts to ban TikTok. In 2020, he signed an executive order declaring that the Chinese-owned app was a threat to national security and that it must either sell its U.S. operations to American companies or be barred from the country. The order was ultimately blocked in court.
The Biden administration has taken a similar stance on the platform, despite still being on it. In April, President Biden signed a bill into law that gave TikTok's parent company ByteDance one year to sell the platform to an American buyer, or the app would be banned in the U.S.
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Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have voiced support for the new law, citing concerns that Americans' data on TikTok could fall into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party and be used to potentially harm the U.S. TikTok has since filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the law, saying it violates the First Amendment of the Constitution.
“Rest assured; we aren't going anywhere. We are confident, and we will keep fighting for your rights in the courts,” TikTok CEO Shou Chew said of the ban, adding that the effort is “ironic because the freedom of expression on TikTok reflects the same American values that make the United States a beacon of freedom.”
