Staff Reports
President Joe Biden’s team has decided to hop onto the TikTok bandwagon, but it looks like they’re having a tough time gaining traction. The account, called Biden-Harris HQ, made its grand entrance on Super Bowl Sunday, featuring a video of the president tackling questions about the big game. Despite the effort, the account has only managed to muster about 56,800 followers. The Super Bowl video did get over 544,000 likes, but the comment section wasn’t exactly teeming with activity, only raking in a measly 4,732 comments.
Following the lackluster Super Bowl video, two more clips were unloaded onto the account on Monday. One unveiled former President Donald Trump claiming responsibility for overturning Roe v. Wade, while the other showed Biden cracking jokes about clean energy during a speech.
REPORTER: "So the administration still has security concerns about TikTok, even though the campaign has now joined it…?"
KIRBY: "Nothing's changed about the national security concerns…about the use of TikTok…" pic.twitter.com/Kx0th5FYwn
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 12, 2024
To spice things up, the video of Biden answering Super Bowl-related questions also featured the meme “Dark Brandon,” showcasing Biden with glowing red eyes. And would you believe it? The Biden campaign is jumping on the bandwagon, selling coffee mugs and T-shirts flaunting that art.
When questioned about the campaign’s decision to join TikTok and its potential impact on security concerns, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby gave a less-than-reassuring response. Kirby ducked the question, saying he couldn’t speak for the campaign and added a vague, “nothing’s changed about the national security concerns.”
The Biden campaign’s TikTok debut isn’t the first time Democrats have dipped their toes into the platform. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was also seen strutting her stuff, trying to stay relevant on the social media scene. And with a witty finger on the pulse of pop culture, the Biden-Harris HQ even made an appearance on Trump’s Truth Social back in October, purportedly for laughs.
