Trump joins TikTok amid Truth Social stock drop, garnering millions of followers in hours

Donald Trump, the former president, announced on Saturday night that he had joined TikTok in the wake of reports that the value of his Truth Social shares had dropped by $314 million.

On his verified account, @realDonaldTrump, Trump shared a video announcing his launch that showed him greeting spectators at the Ultimate Fighting Championship bout he watched on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey.

In the 13-second video, UFC President Dana White said, "The president is now on TikTok." "It's my honor," Trump replied. In around four hours, the video had received over 2.7 million views and over half a million likes.

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Trump's decision to join TikTok was prompted by the Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (TMTG)'s share price plummeting on Friday following his conviction on Thursday for criminal offences. TMTG, the owner of the social media platform Truth Social, is led by the former president, who is also the company's majority shareholder.

He was found guilty of all 34 charges by a New York jury in connection with an unlawful conspiracy to sway the 2016 election by paying hush money to a porn star who claimed to have had sex with him.

Despite the controversies surrounding TikTok, the fact that Trump, the presumed Republican nominee, joined the platform a few months after President Joe Biden's campaign indicates that both camps see it as a potent messaging tool to reach voters before November's election.

President Joe Biden signed legislation in April requiring ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company to sell the app within a year or risk a ban in the United States.

Those attempting to ban TikTok claim that its ownership by ByteDance provides Beijing serious influence over what Americans watch and may give it access to U.S. user data. ByteDance has made it clear time and time again that the Chinese government does not own or control the company.

When he was president, Trump attempted to ban TikTok by an executive order due to national security concerns, but he has since said that he is against the idea. "Just so everyone knows, especially the young people, Crooked Joe Biden is responsible for banning TikTok," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform in April.

"He is the one pushing it to close, and doing it to help his friends over at Facebook become richer and more dominant, and able to continue to fight, perhaps illegally, the Republican Party," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)