The White House has an official TikTok, and its already getting dragged
The White House has opened an official TikTok account, apparently with the intention of promoting President Donald Trump to the public. Unfortunately for the Trump administration, most TikTok users don't seem happy to have it around.
Launched on Tuesday, the @whitehouse TikTok account currently has Trump's tagline, "Welcome to the Golden Age of America," on its profile, and has posted three videos at time of publishing.
The White House's debut TikTok features a montage of Trump attending rallies and making public appearances, while his voiceover declares himself the "voice" of the American people. "America we are BACK! What’s up TikTok?" reads the first video's description. The second video is a montage of shots of the White House itself.
Finally, the third video features clips of Trump which appear to highlight his more mocked or criticised behaviour. These include press conference incidents of intimidation toward Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, and Maine governor Janet Mills, comments about Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, as well as his comment that "everything's computer" in a Tesla Model S Plaid during Elon Musk's Tesla promotion on the White House lawn. The video description quotes one clip of Trump, telling reporters in June 2025, "I was the hunted, and now I'm the hunter."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the legitimacy of its TikTok account, stating that it will be used to inform people of the ostensibly "historic successes President Trump has delivered to the American people."
"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," Leavitt told Reuters.
TikTok users give official White House account frosty reception
Unfortunately for the White House, its effort to connect with TikTok's 170 million U.S. users hasn't been well received thus far. As of writing, the majority of comments under the White House's TikTok videos have given it a decidedly frosty reception, criticising and mocking Trump and his administration.
"I thought TikTok was a national security threat? At least thats what Trump said in [his] August 6, 2020 executive order to ban it," wrote @jjackson5150 in one of the first video's most liked comments. "Now they have a official White House account. This just proves it was never about security. They just want to control it."
"[California's Democratic governor and outspoken Trump critic] GAVIN NEWSOM IS THE STRONGEST GOVERNOR IN AMERICA," wrote @amanda.c.e in another highly liked comment. "HES THE GREATEST. NO ONE IS BETTER THAN HIM."
"trump is about to learn very quickly that tiktok hates him," commented @yeah.by.usher on the third video.
Though Trump did attempt to ban TikTok in the U.S. during his first term as president in 2020, it was former President Joe Biden that ultimately signed the current U.S. TikTok ban into law. However, it seems Trump's views on TikTok have significantly shifted since 2020. The president has issued several delays on the TikTok ban's enforcement since taking office for a second time, enabling the popular video sharing app to continue operating in the U.S. without facing penalties.
The Biden administration also specifically banned TikTok from federal U.S. government devices in 2022, a restriction that is still in place. Even so, some government officials continue to operate TikTok accounts, presumably circumventing the ban by using personal devices. Trump's TikTok account currently has 15.1 million followers, while Vice President J.D. Vance has 2.5 million.
Aside from noting the TikTok ban and posting political memes, many of the comments on the White House's videos call for the Trump administration to release information on convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"where is the epstien files? release the files," @lexguy8596 wrote in one of the most liked comments under the first TikTok. "and why is the white house posting on a banned app?"
Trump received significant criticism from his supporters last month after repeatedly urging them to move on from Epstein and stop asking for his client list. The president had initially promised to release information on Epstein's associates during his second presidential campaign, while his Attorney General Pam Bondi stated in February his client list was "sitting on [her] desk." However, the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI stated in July that no such list exists — a claim many Trump supporters find difficult to believe.
Social media users have continued to call for Trump to release the "Epstein files" since, expressing disappointment and disillusionment with the U.S. president. Trump was even ratioed by users on his own social media platform Truth Social, with thousands of people launching a deluge of criticism at him. Considering that Truth Social's user base is overwhelmingly dominated by Trump's supporters, it's no surprise that the White House's reception on TikTok has been even less friendly.
