Photo Credit: Jonathan Kemper
Trump and Vance reactivate their TikTok accounts in preparation for the US spin-off of the short-form video platform.
Donald Trump and JD Vance’s TikTok accounts have lain dormant since November of last year—after the pair posted videos urging Americans to get out and vote ahead of the presidential election. Now, both have posted on their respective accounts, announcing their return to the platform ahead of the anticipated U.S. deal with China.
The move is a stark contrast to Trump’s initial stance on TikTok during his first term in office, when he said he would ban the Chinese-owned app due to the threat posed to national security. But he changed his tune during his bid for reelection, after he used TikTok extensively to promote his campaign, and credits it with helping secure his second term.
Trump’s return to the platform was marked with a statement to “the young people of TikTok,” whom he said on Monday “owe him big” for “saving TikTok.” Vance, meanwhile, said his followers could expect more “sombrero memes,” referencing videos posted by the administration to troll Democrats in the face of the government shutdown.
Over the past five years, the future of TikTok in the United States has evolved into a bipartisan issue. Trump actually floated the idea of a ban during his first presidency, and it became a law signed by President Joe Biden in 2024, requiring TikTok to either sell its U.S. assets or face a federal ban.
The day after Trump’s return to office in January, he signed an executive order extending the deadline by which a deal with TikTok could be reached. Since then, he’s extended the deadline no less than three times, dragging the promise of a deal with China along behind him.
In recent weeks, Trump has announced a deal—which is still pending—during talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which mostly pertain to the extensive tariffs enacted by Trump. The deal for an American TikTok will allegedly involve control by a consortium of Trump-allied billionaires, including Rupert Murdoch, Michael Dell, and Larry Ellison.
According to VP Vance, the TikTok deal is believed to be valued at around $14 billion, which is far less than analysts say the American assets of TikTok would be worth at auction.
TikTok continues to reign as the dominant social media platform for users under 30, with an estimated 170 million users in the U.S.
