He tried to ban it: Now he's opening a TikTok account!

Trump made his first post on his verified account, which he opened last night, with a short video clip.

In the video, Trump, who stated "It is an honor to be here," saw his follower count exceed one million shortly after the account was opened.

Trump's entry is being interpreted as a move to reach young voters, especially for the presidential election to be held in November, and is also seen as a gain for the social media platform, which has been the subject of debates in the US Congress regarding a ban due to its Chinese ownership.

TikTok has 170 million users in the US.

During his presidency, Trump also wanted to shut down TikTok citing national security concerns but was blocked by a federal court. Trump had stated that he was against the bill passed by Congress this year that paves the way for a TikTok ban, on the grounds that it would anger young Americans.

DEBATES ON TIKTOK BAN IN THE US CONGRESS

The US House of Representatives passed the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act" on March 13, 2024, which paves the way for banning TikTok in the country due to claims that it "poses national security issues," and sent it to the Senate.

Those who support the bill, which was passed with the joint votes of Republicans and Democrats, argue that information belonging to American citizens obtained by the Beijing-based firm ByteDance through TikTok is being transmitted to the Chinese government.

TikTok's management, on the other hand, claims that these allegations do not reflect the truth and that they operate entirely according to American laws, just like other social media platforms in the US.

Following the bill's passage by a large majority in the House of Representatives, all eyes are now on the Senate, where the bill was sent.

US President Joe Biden had announced that he would sign the bill if it reached his desk, due to national security sensitivities.