The White House launched an official TikTok account on Tuesday, marking a shift in stance as President Donald Trump continues to allow the Chinese-owned platform to operate in the United States despite a law requiring its sale.
“America we are BACK! What’s up TikTok?” read the caption on the account’s first post, a 27-second clip. The account amassed about 4,500 followers within an hour of posting. Trump’s personal TikTok account currently has 15.1 million followers, though his last post was on 5 November 2024.
Trump has credited TikTok with helping him gain support among young voters in the 2024 presidential election against Kamala Harris. “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,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said as the account went live.
The launch comes after Trump paused a federal law that was due to take effect on 19 January, which would have required TikTok’s sale or a ban on national security grounds. In mid-June, Trump extended the deadline by a further 90 days to allow time for a non-Chinese buyer to be found. ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, said any agreement would be subject to Chinese law.
Trump originally called for a ban in 2020, citing national security concerns, but reversed his position after joining the platform during his 2024 campaign. He hosted TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at Mar-a-Lago, and Chew attended Trump’s inauguration. The app has 170 million users in the US and almost 2 billion globally.
