White House Debuts on TikTok, Trump Delivers Assertive Statement: "I Speak for You"
The White House made a surprising move this week, launching an official TikTok account under the handle @whitehouse. This social media platform, with over 170 million U.S. users, has been a subject of interest for President Trump, who credits it for helping him gain support among young voters.
The account, which went live on Tuesday evening, is part of an ongoing effort to communicate the successes of President Trump to multiple audiences and platforms, as stated by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. The first video, captioned "America we are BACK! What's up TikTok?", features footage of President Trump and carries a strong message: "I am your voice."
The launch of the account comes amidst a proposed deal for U.S. investors to buy TikTok from its Chinese parent ByteDance. This arrangement, if completed, would involve a joint venture where ByteDance would retain partial ownership, and a consortium of U.S. investors would acquire a controlling interest in TikTok’s U.S. operations.
This deal is a response to a U.S. law passed in 2024 mandating ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets by January 2025 or face a nationwide ban. The deadline for this divestment was initially set for January 19, 2025, but it was extended by President Donald Trump to September 17, 2025, amid ongoing trade negotiations and unresolved approval from China.
However, the deal has faced its share of challenges. A previously progressing deal fell apart when China refused approval, following Trump’s tariff declarations, which complicated the sale. The new ownership, if the deal goes through, would be a joint venture between ByteDance and a U.S. investor consortium, ensuring operational control is partly transferred but ByteDance maintains an interest.
Despite the ongoing negotiations, some lawmakers have expressed concern about TikTok's U.S. user data potentially falling into the hands of China's government. The financials of TikTok's U.S. operations have also added complexity to the deal structure, as the platform has reportedly been losing money.
Meanwhile, President Trump's message was dominant on TikTok during his presidential campaign, and the administration aims to build upon those successes. It is worth noting that President Trump also has a Truth Social account and occasionally posts on his X account.
In a separate development, India paused a $3.6 billion deal to acquire Boeing jets after Trump announced 50% tariffs, a fact not directly related to TikTok but could be of interest to readers.
The extension of the deadline for TikTok has drawn criticism from some lawmakers who argue that the Trump administration is flouting the law and ignoring national security concerns related to Chinese control over TikTok.
As of late August 2025, no definitive sale has been closed, and the final approval faces diplomatic and regulatory hurdles. The White House TikTok account, however, is active and ready to share the messages of President Trump with a new audience.
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