Trump 'Saving' TikTok Has Everyone Saying The Same Thing

Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Time is ticking on the lifespan of the popular social media site TikTok, and no one quite knows what the final outcome will be. Earlier this year, a mandate was given to China-owned TikTok to sell to a non-Chinese owner or risk being banned in the United States. TikTok did not sell, and its shutdown was scheduled for January 19. However, TikTok shut down one day early, on January 18, leaving its users without an outlet to post recipes, hacks, opinions, and OOTDs. But wait! There's more! 

On January 17, the day before TikTok shut down on its own, President Joe Biden, days away from ending his term in the White House, declared he would not enforce the law banning the platform and would leave its fate up to the next administration — one led by Donald J. Trump, taking office on January 20. 

When TikTok went dark, they posted a message explaining the law and heralding Trump in his efforts to work with the company to bring them back to life. And Trump has, indeed, been very vocal about his efforts to help the TikTokers of America fill their phones with videos — including his own, thanks to a TikTok account of his very own. He asked the Supreme Court to delay the ban until he took office (they said no). He called the president of China to talk about it. He invited TikTok's CEO to his inauguration. He made sure the public knew about all his efforts. But not everyone was impressed, with claims of all the hullabaloo being one giant PR stunt. 

When TikTok shut down access to US users on January 18, it did so with a message declaring that "President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok." Lo and behold, the very next day, TikTok was back online in the United States, once again hailing the 47th president as its savior. And in case you missed it, Trump relayed his heroic deed to the public during a rally held the night before his inauguration, recorded by NBC News (complete with Trump's cringe dance moves to "YMCA"). "As of today, TikTok is back," he announced and went on to explain how he came up with the solution to have the company 50% owned by the US. 

Some people applauded Trump. Others thought the timing and details added up to something of the fishy variety. "The government pretending to ban TikTok so Trump could do his hero gimmick," noted one user on X, formerly known as Twitter. "This was such a PR stunt and now I gotta hear about trump saving TikTok from his new supporters," commented another. 

There were also those with very long memories who called out Trump because he signed the executive order outlawing any dealings between TikTok and American users, making it almost impossible for the company to continue to operate in the country. As one person noted on X, "You know he was the one who got it banned in the first place right? And now he's playing the hero for bringing it back."