The White House has launched an official account on TikTok, the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform that President Donald Trump once sought to ban. The first post, a 27-second clip, carried the caption: "America we are BACK! What's up TikTok?" and attracted about 4,500 followers within an hour of being published.
Trump, whose personal TikTok account has 15.1 million followers, has credited the app with helping him win support among young voters in the November 2024 presidential election. His own last post on TikTok was on election day, 5 November 2024.
The launch comes despite a US federal law that would require TikTok's sale or a ban on national security grounds. The deadline was due to take effect on 19 January, the day before Trump's inauguration, but the president has paused the measure. In mid-June, he extended the deadline for a third time by 90 days to allow for a non-Chinese buyer to be found.
The idea of banning TikTok was first raised by Trump in 2020, when he said the app posed a danger to national security. It later became a bipartisan issue, with Congress voting overwhelmingly to ban the platform last year and the Supreme Court ultimately affirming the law. Trump changed his position after joining TikTok during his campaign and hosting the app's chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Chew also attended Trump's inauguration.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was committed to communicating "the historic successes President Trump has delivered to the American people with as many audiences and platforms as possible." The White House already has official accounts on X, with 2.4 million followers, and Instagram, with 9.3 million followers.
