US President Donald Trump returned to TikTok, declaring that he was responsible for saving the popular video-sharing app.In a video posted on Monday morning (local time), Trump addressed his 15 million followers from behind the Resolute Desk, saying, “To all of those young people of TikTok, I saved TikTok, so you owe me big.”
Flashing his signature grin, he added, “And now, you’re looking at me in the Oval Office. Someday, one of you is going to be sitting right at this desk — and you’re going to be doing a great job also.”
The post marks the president’s first video on the platform since he signed an executive order on September 25 that ensured TikTok could continue operating in the United States under new majority American ownership. The deal requires TikTok’s US assets to be transferred to a consortium of American investors, with Oracle overseeing the platform’s data security and algorithm operations.
Under the agreement, US investors will hold roughly 80 per cent of the company, while Chinese parent ByteDance will retain a stake of 20 per cent or less. Governance of the restructured company will tilt decisively toward US control, most board seats will go to American investors, and ByteDance will have just one, excluded from national security committees.
The move comes after months of uncertainty over TikTok’s fate. President Joe Biden’s earlier legislation had required ByteDance to sell its US operations or face a ban. Trump’s administration extended TikTok’s operating deadlines several times before finalising the current agreement.
TikTok, which has 170 million US users, has become a surprisingly powerful political stage. The president’s own account — now followed by 15 million people — played an important role in energising younger voters during his re-election campaign last year.
VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE JOINS IN
Vice President JD Vance also made his comeback on TikTok, announcing the relaunch of his page — promising political updates mixed with what he called “a few sombrero memes.”
“I got a little lazy the last few months — was focused on the job of being VP and not on TikTok,” Vance joked, promising “political updates and a few sombrero memes.”
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With inputs from agencies
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