Staff Reports
Former President Donald Trump is gaining popularity on the social media app TikTok, with more pro-Trump content being seen than pro-Biden content. Since last November, there have been twice as many videos and images supporting Trump than supporting Biden. These pro-Trump posts have garnered 9.1 billion views, while the positive posts for Biden have received 6.15 billion views.
Trump outperforms Biden on TikTok in another warning sign for incumbenthttps://t.co/PtEHen9JDC pic.twitter.com/5crCGSqhrU
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) May 13, 2024
Videos with the hashtag #Trump2024 have received 472.8 million likes and 6.5 billion views, compared to the 50.9 million likes and 558 million views for videos with the hashtag #Biden2024. It is worth noting that Trump does not have an official account on TikTok, and all the engagement on his content comes from other users. On the other hand, Biden does have an official TikTok account for his reelection campaign.
TikTok is particularly popular among younger adults aged 18-34, a group that President Biden is reportedly struggling to reach. In a Pew Research Center study, it was found that one-third of U.S. adults use TikTok. However, Trump has not always been in favor of the app. While he opposed a ban on TikTok in March, prior to the 2020 election, he attempted to force the Chinese owner to sell the platform through an executive order. Despite his efforts, a federal judge blocked this attempt, calling it “arbitrary and capricious.”
Meanwhile, President Biden has signed a bill that bans TikTok in the U.S. unless the Chinese-owned platform sells to an American company within nine months. This bill was part of a larger package that included aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, and it moved through Congress and onto the president’s desk in a short amount of time.
The discussion around banning TikTok has been ongoing in Congress due to concerns about national security and the potential for the Chinese government to access personal information of American users. ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, has argued that it does not share information with the Chinese government and has no plans to sell. The company has also filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, calling the ban unconstitutional and a violation of Americans’ First Amendment rights to free speech.
In their lawsuit, ByteDance argued that allowing Congress to ban the platform over national security concerns could set a dangerous precedent for the government to shut down other forms of media and online communities. The company highlighted that this would be the first time in history that a single speech platform is subject to a permanent ban nationwide, prohibiting Americans from participating in a community with over 1 billion users worldwide.
The battle over the future of TikTok in the U.S. continues, with both political figures and the company itself taking legal and legislative action to protect their interests.
