Trump campaign launches TikTok account as Truth Social stock drops
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump speaks at a press conference, one day after the guilty verdict in his criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to cover up hides the hush money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, at Trump Tower in New York City, U.S., May 31, 2024.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Former president Donald TrumpHis campaign launched an official account on TikTok on Saturday night, with the social media platform facing a potential ban in the US
“It’s my honor,” Trump said the first time TikTok posted as “@realdonaldtrump”, followed by footage of him waving to the crowd on Saturday Ultimate Fighting Championship Shows. That post received 1.5 million likes within 10 hours of going online.
Trump’s TikTok implementation is his own social media company, Trump Mediafinances plummeted after the historic verdict convicting the former president of 34 felony charges in a hush money trial in Manhattan.
Trump Media, parent company of Social truth trade accordingly DJT shares, fell more than 5% at market close on Friday, the day after Trump’s conviction, with shares priced at $49. Immediately after Trump’s conviction on Thursday, stocks fell about 15% during extended trading hours.
Trump offered Social truth in early 2022 as an alternative, “non-woke” social media platform after he was banned from sites like Twitter And Facebook following the Capitol riot on January 6. Since then, Trump Media has IPOed and the former president now holds 65% of the company’s shares.
Truth Social did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Trump’s move to TikTok.
Trump is several months later than his Democratic opponent President Joe Bidenwhose re-election campaign was launched on TikTok in February. But the presumptive Republican presidential nominee had 2 million followers on Sunday, far surpassing the Biden campaign’s nearly 340,000.
“We refuse to cede any ground to Biden and the Democratic Party,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to NBC News on Sunday. “We will get President Trump’s message of victory to every voter possible. He has gained a significant foothold among young voters and this is another way to reach them.”
Both candidates joined TikTok despite previously expressing national security concerns about the app.
In April, Biden signed into law a foreign aid package that forced TikTok’s Chinese parent company to cease operations. ByteDanceto sell the app, otherwise the platform will face a nationwide ban in the US
During his time in power, Trump also said he would try ban TikTok, although he has since changed that stance. However, he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in an interview in March that he believed TikTok could threaten US national security.
