President Donald Trump has returned to his TikTok account in an effort to engage with Gen Z, but things didn’t quite go as planned.
On Monday (October 6), the 79-year-old shared his first video on the social media platform since Election Day 2024.
This marked his attempt to reconnect with younger Americans, especially Gen Z, as he took credit for securing a deal that would allow TikTok to remain operational in the US after months of uncertainty.
"To all those young people of TikTok, I saved TikTok, so you owe me big," he declared from the Oval Office. "Now you're looking at me in the Oval Office, and someday one of you are gonna be sitting right at this desk, and you're gonna be doing a great job also," he added.
TikTok Users React
Trump's return was met with mixed reactions. While some users expressed gratitude, with comments like "Thank you, President Trump" and "Best president ever," others were less impressed and criticized the president for causing the app's troubles in the first place, only to take credit for resolving them.
"He’s the reason why it was getting banned in the first place. He creates problems, and takes credit for ending the problem he created," one person shared, while another questioned: "What percentage of TikTok is censored now that you have new owners?"
Meanwhile, a few users took the opportunity to ask Trump about the long-awaited Epstein files, which he has promised to release.
“Awesome, now release the files. Thanks,” one user commented. "Cool you got them files ready?" a second asked, while a third added: "You owe us certain files. Release them."
The TikTok Deal: What’s at Stake
In a move that echoed the ongoing complexity of the TikTok situation, Trump confirmed that a sale deal had been reached but still had several legal and procedural hurdles to overcome. Despite his approval, the deal remains in progress with regulatory reviews expected to be completed by early 2026.
According to USA Today, White House officials have stated that the US division of TikTok would be valued at $14 billion. The ownership group reportedly includes several notable figures, such as Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and Trump’s allies in the tech world.
These figures would play significant roles in monitoring the app’s algorithm and operations, making sure it adheres to U.S. standards and doesn’t pose a national security risk.
Trump’s Past Attempts to Ban TikTok
The TikTok deal is a complicated one, especially given Trump’s past attempts to ban the platform.
Back in 2020, the president signed an executive order claiming that the app posed a security threat due to its Chinese ownership, accusing the app of harvesting Americans' personal data for the Chinese government.
“These risks are real,” the order said. “This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information - potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage.”
This led to a contentious legal battle, with the order being blocked by a federal judge and later dropped by the Biden administration.
Now, having facilitated the sale of TikTok’s US arm, Trump claims to have resolved the very issue he once championed to eliminate.