Donald Trump Doesn't Want to Ban TikTok Because He Gets Billions of Views

President-elect Donald Trump said he does not want to ban TikTok as he apparently gets billions of views on the social media app.

In a post on Truth Social early Friday morning, the president-elect wrote, "Why would I want to get rid of TikTok?" alongside a graphic showing Trump-related content receives billions of views on the app. The source of the graphic is unclear and Newsweek could not independently verify the data provided.

Newsweek has contacted the Trump transition team and TikTok for comment via email.

Why It Matters

A number of Republicans, along with Democrats, have supported banning TikTok in the U.S. over national security concerns if its Chinese parent company does not cut ties with the app.

Trump himself wanted the app banned in 2020. The president-elect has since reversed his stance and is calling for it to remain active in the U.S.

What to Know

The graphic noted that Trump's @realdonaldtrump TikTok account, with 14.7 million followers, has garnered 1.4 billion total views. The @teamtrump campaign account, which has 8.3 million followers, has amassed 2.4 billion total views.

According to the graphic, Trump and his campaign's TikTok accounts receive five and eight times more views on TikTok than on their respective Instagram accounts.

Videos using the hashtag #trump have accumulated 36 billion views on TikTok, while #donaldtrump has been viewed 15 billion times and #trump2024 videos 10 billion times.

On December 27, Trump's legal team filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to pause the enforcement of a law that would ban TikTok unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells the app by January 19, the day before his inauguration.

Congress voted in April 2024 to enforce the ban over concerns that ByteDance has links to the Chinese government. ByteDance has said it will not sell TikTok.

In the filing, attorney John Sauer, Trump's nominee for solicitor general, asked the Supreme Court to pause the rule until after Trump returns to the White House on January 20 in order to allow the incoming administration to "pursue a negotiated resolution" to the issues surrounding TikTok.

What People Are Saying

President-elect Donald Trump at a December 16 press conference: "I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth [in the 2024 election] by 34 points. And there are those who say TikTok has something to do with it."

Attorney D. John Sauer in the December 27 legal brief: "President Trump takes no position on the merits of the dispute. Instead, he urges the Court to stay the statute's effective date to allow his incoming administration to pursue a negotiated resolution that could prevent a nationwide shutdown of TikTok, thus preserving the First Amendment rights of tens of millions of Americans while also addressing the government's national security concerns."

Republican Texas Representative Michael McCaul on the House floor in April 2024: "This app is a spy balloon in Americans' phones. It is a modern-day Trojan horse of the CCP [Chinese Communist Party], used to surveil and exploit Americans' personal information."

Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Trump's pick for secretary of state, in an April 2024 statement: "TikTok extended the CCP's [Chinese Communist Party] power and influence into our own nation, right under our noses. I have been raising concerns about TikTok since 2019, so this new law forcing ByteDance to divest from TikTok is a huge step toward confronting Beijing's malign influence. It's official: Communist China is on the clock."

TikTok in a December 18 statement: "We believe the Court will find the TikTok ban unconstitutional so the over 170 million Americans on our platform can continue to exercise their free speech rights."

What Happens Next

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the TikTok ban case on January 10.