Former President Trump urged Americans to vote for him if they want to “save TikTok,” accusing his political opponent of seeking to “close it up,” in a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.
“For all of those that want to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump,” he said in a video, speaking directly into the camera and flanked by two American flags.
“The other side’s closing it up, but I’m now a big star on TikTok,” Trump continued, adding that “we’re setting records.”
The GOP presidential nominee joined the popular social media app three months ago and has amassed 10.8 million followers. Nearly two months later, shortly after launching her bid for president, Vice President Harris joined and has gained 5 million followers.
“We’re not doing anything with TikTok, but the other side is going to close it up,” Trump said in his video. “So if you like TikTok, go out and vote for Trump. If you don’t care about TikTok — and other things like safety, security and prosperity — then you can vote for a Marxist who’s going to destroy our country.”
Both campaigns recognize the importance of TikTok to young voters, who have trended more conservative in this election cycle than in past cycles.
Harris’s campaign, however, has generated newfound enthusiasm among young voters, who have flocked to her campaign since she replaced President Biden as the Democratic nominee. Her team has been lauded, too, for its revamped communication strategy, which has found success among young voters.
A recent USA Today/Suffolk University poll found young people moved a massive 24 points between June and August, from favoring Trump over Biden by 11 points to now supporting Harris over Trump by 13 points.
Neither campaign says it favors a “TikTok ban,” but the Biden administration signed into law a bill that would compel the platform’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell the video-sharing app or face a ban from U.S. app stores and networks. A measure included in a subsequent foreign aid package earlier this year gave the company a January 2025 deadline to sell, with the possibility of a 90-day extension.
The legislation passed Congress with a bipartisan majority, as lawmakers cited national security concerns with the Chinese government potentially having access to American users’ sensitive data — accusations which TikTok has adamantly denied.
Trump opposed such a ban at the time, though he tried to enforce a similar one via executive order when he was in the White House.
The Hill has reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.
