The former President of the United States of America and the current Republican candidate for the 2024 presidency has come out in support of the much-banned social media app TikTok, even though he tried to ban it in his administration.
The change in Trump’s position is considered as an attempt to gain the support of the young people before the next election.
This is a complete turn around from what Trump did in 2020 where he sought to ban TikTok through an executive order based on security threats. The ban was however lifted by the courts of law after sometime. Despite the constant reminders by the U. S. federal agencies that the Chinese government could be receiving users’ data from TikTok, which the platform has denied, Trump has now signed up for the platform and has over 10 million followers.
In a video uploaded on his Truth Social site, Trump encouraged his supporters to ‘vote Trump’ if they wish to have TikTok in America. He also accused the Biden administration of signing a bill in April that seeks to compel ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, to sell its operations in the U. S. or face a ban. “The other side is closing it up. But I’m now a big star on TikTok...We’re not doing anything with TikTok, but the other side is going to close it up,” Trump stated.
This is a clear case of Trump’s new approach to TikTok as part of a larger plan to appeal to the younger generation. He has recently increased the number of videos and has covered such famous Twitch streamers as Adin Ross. This is in line with his overall strategy of the presidential campaign to present himself as a tough man to the populace who may not be regular consumers of traditional media.
The bill was passed by the Biden administration in April, which requires ByteDance to divest TikTok’s US operations by January 19 or risk a ban. The law is today experiencing legal challenges, where oral arguments are expected to be presented to the U. S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in September.
Nevertheless, it has yet to be seen whether this new approach will change the people’s perception, especially when there are still issues of national security regarding the app.
