Everyone in the White House, from President Trump down, seems to have conveniently forgotten all the problems with TikTok.
The Chinese social media video platform, which Congress voted to ban, and the Supreme Court affirmed unanimously the legality of that law banning it, has more lives than a proverbial cat. Every time ByteDance, the Chinese parent company, threatens to shut it down, President Trump swoops in to save it for “another 90 days.” Under the law, that 90 day extension was allowable ONE(!) time and had to be tied to the actual divestment of the platform away from ByteDance. That hasn’t happened, Trump keeps extending the deadline by claiming the law allows him to do that (which apparently is like the pirates’ code in “The Pirates of the Caribbean” – the law is apparently more of a “guideline” than an actual rule), and now the White House itself has joined TikTok.
The account, @whitehouse, was launched Tuesday evening and gained more than 80,000 followers as of early Wednesday. Trump’s campaign used a TikTok account, @realdonaldtrump, which now has more than 15 million followers, before the presidential election last year. Trump’s aides said last year that his TikTok was “the most successful launch in political history” and credited it with being his “secret sauce.”
“I am your voice,” Trump declares in the first video posted to the White House account, featuring footage of him spliced together and a caption reading, “America we are BACK! What’s up TikTok?”
“The Trump administration is committed to communicating the historic successes President Trump has delivered to the American people with as many audiences and platforms as possible,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Reuters on Tuesday. “President Trump’s message dominated TikTok during his presidential campaign, and we’re excited to build upon those successes and communicate in a way no other administration has before.”
Federal employees are not allowed to download the app on work devices with limited exceptions, per a law passed during the Biden Administration.
The White House, guided by President Trump, has made this simple calculation: if it helped Trump get elected, it’s good, and it’s popular, so that’s even better. The hysteria from very online people when the app looked like it was shutting down back in January probably made a huge impression on the president – which is what China wanted all along. The people are addicted, and Trump saved the platform to keep the people happy.
The problem is, of course, that continually extending TikTok’s lifespan in the United States is illegal. However, neither side of the aisle is apparently willing to stand up and defend this law. Democrats in general like TikTok because it allows them to reach out to younger voters, and now Republicans are quiet because Trump is in love with the app. The legislature is a co-equal branch of government, and has the backing of the judicial branch, but has given up on trying to enforce the law they passed. It’s pathetic.
The contempt Congress has shown for itself throughout this display of brazen executive branch noncompliance has been hard to watch. https://t.co/mLiwQmeIA8
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) August 20, 2025
Asking when Congress will grow a pair seems a futile question. So, it ByteDance actually going to sell TikTok? Of course not – they would rather shut it down than sell it, and so long as Trump keeps giving them a lifeline, they have no incentive to do a damn thing. The next deadline is September 17th. Odds that anything happens before then is pretty much zero, and who wants to bet that another extension will be granted?
FOLLOW THE LAW https://t.co/ISXDBlvcOm pic.twitter.com/lxyhH13TzJ
— LB (@beyondreasdoubt) August 20, 2025
For those who claim Trump is acting as an “authoritarian” and is “ignoring the law” – this is YOUR issue. Where are all the Democrats who like to scream about “TACO” Trump? Is there a single prominent Democrat who is willing to stand up and say, “TikTok should be banned because Congress passed a law”? For that matter, are there any Republicans who are willing to buck the president and say “NO, we passed a law”?
Look, I understand that TikTok is popular with the demographic that both parties are desperate to woo. However, China is laughing at us right now because the kids can’t live without their indoctrination app, and the adults in the room refuse to enforce the law they passed. I promise that the kids will be able to get over it, and be better off mentally, if TikTok goes dark. ByteDance has made it clear – they aren’t going to sell. Illegally handing out extensions like Halloween candy makes President Trump look weak and Congress look like idiots. And now, in contradiction to all good sense and THE LAW, the White House is now on TikTok. There are not enough facepalms – or politicians willing to say NO.
Featured image: Solen Feyissa on flickr, cropped, CC BY-SA 2.0
The post TikTok Was Banned, But The White House Joined It Anyway appeared first on Victory Girls Blog.
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Author: Deanna Fisher
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