in

Trump Joins TikTok, Garners 22 Million Views Within Hours Of First Post

(New York Post) Former President Donald Trump has joined TikTok — and he’s already getting HUUUGE.

Within a matter of hours, the presumptive Republican nominee, racked up more than 22 million views on his debut video, which he posted from the Ultimate Fighting Championship 302 in New Jersey.

He’s also got more than 1.1 million followers as of Sunday morning.

“The president is now on TikTok,” UFC President Dana White, bellowed in a 13-second clip.

“It’s my honor,” Trump, 77, replied during a mashup of him greeting fans.

That’s despite the fact that as president, Trump tried to ban the Chinese video sharing app in the US.

The app also faces a deadline to sell its US business or be banned, following a bipartisan bill that passed Congress in April.

@realdonaldtrump Launching my TikTok at @UFC ♬ original sound – President Donald J Trump

As president, Trump signed an executive order to block the popular video-sharing site in 2020, but the courts quashed that action.

By March of this year, Trump had changed his tune. While contending that it could pose national security concerns, Trump argued that banning TikTok would empower Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.

“Just so everyone knows, especially the young people, Crooked Joe Biden is responsible for banning TikTok,” Trump, wrote in an April Truth Social post.

Donald Trump, Dana White
The former president made his TikTok debut at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event. TikTok / @realdonaldtrump

“He is the one pushing it to close, and doing it to help his friends over at Facebook become richer and more dominant, and able to continue to fight, perhaps illegally, the Republican Party.”

During the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol, Trump was banished from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, now known as X. He has since been allowed on the platforms.

While in exile, Trump moved over to a platform of his own — Truth Social, where he has kept most of his social media activity.

Donald Trump
Donald Trump once sought to ban TikTok amid national security concerns. TikTok / @realdonaldtrump

GOP megadonor Jeff Yass had been personally lobbying Republicans in the House to derail efforts against TikTok, The Post previously reported.

Yass’ fund has a roughly $33 billion stake in ByteDance.

Critics have speculated that Yass may have influenced Trump’s reversal on TikTok.

Donald Trump
Most of the former president’s social media posts are made on his own Truth Social platform. TikTok / @realdonaldtrump

Read More

Leave a Reply

Loading…

FYI: One Of U.S.’s Largest Lenders Offering 0%-Down-Payment Mortgages To First-Time Homebuyers – But Here’s The Catch

Israel Calls Out Biden’s Lie That They’ve Agreed To Proposal To End War Against Hamas