The White House joined TikTok on Tuesday, where it’s sharing video clips of President Donald Trump and his staff that attempt to portray them as quick-witted, rebellious American leaders.
These clips, edited together like a sizzle reel, show Trump declining phone calls from congressmen and threatening lawsuits during a press conference. Another video boasts that Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt “rips” a New York Times reporter after he asked a question at a press conference.
Despite the app’s legal battles, TikTok remains a vital way for political candidates and government offices to connect with constituents. But by operating this TikTok account, the White House appears to defy government guidelines, as federal employees were previously banned from using TikTok on government devices.
Trump himself initiated the calls to ban TikTok nationally in 2020, citing the danger of the Chinese Communist Party potentially accessing American user data. But in his second term, the president has taken a different approach. While the Supreme Court upheld a law that bans TikTok if it is not sold to an American company, Trump has continually extended the sale deadline.
TechCrunch has reached out to TikTok for comment.
Reception to the White House videos has been decidedly mixed. As of Wednesday morning, each of the five videos that the White House has uploaded to TikTok have been spammed with negative comments, many of them referencing the president’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted child sex offender who died awaiting trial.
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