Former President Trump accused his political opponents of “trying to shut down TikTok” and urged Americans to vote for him if they “want to save TikTok.” post on Wednesday on his Truth Social platform.
“If you want to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump,” he said in the video, addressing the camera while holding up two American flags.
“They're tightening their screws, but I'm now a megastar on TikTok,” Trump continued, adding, “We're breaking records.”
Republican presidential candidate Participated Nearly two months after gaining 10.8 million followers on the popular social media app three months ago, Vice President Harris has been on the receiving end of a series of tweets shortly after announcing her candidacy for president. Participated It gained 5 million followers.
“We haven't done anything with TikTok, but the other side is trying to shut it down,” Trump said in the video. “So if you love TikTok, vote for Trump. If you don't care about TikTok or anything else, like safety, security, prosperity, vote for a Marxist who's going to destroy our country.”
Both campaigns Recognize TikTok is important to younger voters, who tend to be more conservative this election cycle than in past ones.
But Harris' campaign has generated new enthusiasm among younger voters since replacing President Biden as the Democratic nominee, and her campaign has also been praised for a revamped communications strategy that has proved successful among younger voters.
A recent USA Today/Suffolk University poll found that young people's support increased by 24 points between June and August, going from 11 points in favor of Trump over Biden to now 13 points in favor of Harris over Trump.
While neither side has said they support a “TikTok ban,” the Biden administration did sign legislation that would force the platform's China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest the video-sharing app or be removed from U.S. app stores and networks. A measure included in a subsequent foreign aid package announced earlier this year gave the company a deadline to divest the app by January 2025, with the possibility of a 90-day extension.
The bill passed Congress on a bipartisan vote after lawmakers cited national security concerns that the Chinese government could access sensitive data of U.S. users, a charge TikTok staunchly denies.
President Trump opposed such a ban at the time, but tried to implement a similar ban through an executive order while in the White House.
The Hill has reached out to Harris' campaign for comment.
