The White House has officially joined TikTok, launching its account on the platform even as the app continues to face the threat of a nationwide ban in the United States. The account, @WhiteHouse, went live on 19 August with a video highlighting President Donald Trump’s accomplishments.
The move comes at a complex time for TikTok in America. While it was former President Joe Biden who signed the law requiring ByteDance to sell its stake in the platform or face removal from the country, Trump has yet to finalise a deal to keep the app running legally. The current deadline for an agreement is 17 September.
A ban that never fully took hold
TikTok has been unavailable in the United States for only a single day so far. Since then, the ban has been delayed three times. The first delay came in January, when Trump entered office and issued an executive order postponing enforcement for 75 days. Another extension was announced in April after a possible deal collapsed in the wake of Trump’s strict tariffs on China. The most recent delay occurred in June, when Trump suggested Chinese President Xi Jinping might be open to a sale if a suitable buyer could be found.
The White House’s new account highlights the complicated relationship between Trump and TikTok. During his first term in 2020, Trump attempted to ban the app entirely. However, his position shifted during his re-election campaign once his team discovered the scale of support he enjoyed among TikTok users.
Trump’s strong TikTok presence
In 2024, Trump’s campaign launched its official account, @TeamTrump, and rapidly built a massive following. According to journalist Kyle Tharp, the account achieved 2.8 billion views, outperforming the 2.2 billion views on former Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign account, which has since gone dormant.
Republican digital strategists credited Trump’s background as a reality television star for his success on the platform, describing his ability to produce viral, attention-grabbing content as unmatched. “TikTok is primarily an entertainment app,” one Republican operative told The Verge. “Our usage of it was just significantly more savvy than [the Democrats].”
This dominance has made TikTok a crucial tool in Trump’s digital strategy, despite ongoing uncertainty over its future in the United States.
White House doubles down on TikTok
While questions remain over the legality of a nationwide ban and the political motives driving it, the Trump administration appears determined to use the platform to its advantage. In January, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Why would I want to get rid of TikTok?” He also pointed to the billions of views his campaign account continued to attract.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reinforced this approach when the official account launched. “President Trump’s message dominated TikTok during his presidential campaign,” she said in a statement to The Verge. “We’re excited to build upon those successes and communicate in a way no other administration has before.”
For now, the White House’s presence on TikTok reflects the administration’s willingness to embrace the platform, even as negotiations over its future edge closer to a September deadline.
