Tiktok has “place in my heart”

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Trump: Tiktok has “room in my heart”

The Republican used the platform during the election campaign as a vehicle to reach younger target groups. But many US politicians from both parties want to ban Tiktok – there is already a law.

US President-elect Donald Trump has attributed a role to the online platform Tiktok in his electoral success among young voters. “I have a warm place in my heart for Tiktok,” the Republican replied at a press conference in the state of Florida when asked how he wanted to prevent the impending demise of the popular video app in the USA.

Trump described how his 18-year-old son Barron “recommended people” to him during the election campaign, through whose channels he then communicated with young people. “I asked, ‘Who is that?'” Barron was horrified that he didn’t know the people with a wide reach on Tiktok. He then allowed himself to be interviewed by a few people. “And it was actually pretty cute,” Trump said.

More than half of young voters voted for Trump’s Democratic opponent Kamala Harris in the US presidential election on November 5th. However, the Republican was able to make significant gains in this age group compared to the 2020 election – a trend that was also evident in other voter groups.

Tiktok – a subsidiary of the Chinese Bytedance Group – claims to have 170 million users in the USA and is under political pressure there. Many US politicians across party lines are calling for the platform to be banned. They fear that despite Western investors having a majority stake, the influence of Chinese authorities cannot be ruled out – so there is a risk that China could gain access to data from American users and exercise political influence.

A US law passed in April requires Bytedance to separate from Tiktok to avoid a ban in American app stores. The company is taking legal action against it, but recently suffered a defeat in an appeals court. According to media reports, Bytedance does not even plan to negotiate a sale of Tiktok.

Trump, who will be sworn in as US President on January 20th, failed in his first term in office in his attempt to force Tiktok to sell. During the election campaign, he spoke out against banning the platform. However, he cannot override the law.