The White House has officially joined TikTok, launching its first account on Tuesday despite ongoing uncertainty about whether the app will stay in the U.S.
The debut video was a short 27-second clip with the caption: “America, we are BACK! What’s up TikTok?” It quickly attracted attention, gaining about 4,500 followers within the first hour.
TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has been under fire in Washington over security concerns. A law passed in 2023 requires the app to be sold to a non-Chinese company or face a ban. The original deadline was January 2025, but President Trump extended it to September.
Trump once pushed hard for a ban, but during his 2024 campaign he changed course, realizing TikTok’s massive popularity—especially with young voters—was an advantage. He now has over 110 million followers on the platform, even more than on X (Twitter) or his own Truth Social.
With nearly two billion users worldwide, TikTok has become a major player in politics and communication. But its fate in the U.S. still depends on what Trump decides in September.
