As thousands of Americans brave the government shutdown and mass layoffs, President Donald Trump is busy updating his social calendar with golfing hours, dinner dates and even updating his social media profiles online. The latest one being his return to the video app TikTok.
Trump, in his first TikTok post since the election, claimed that he “saved” the platform and that the young generation “owes him.” The US President filmed the TikTok video at his Oval Office. Seated behind the Resolute Desk, Trump addressed his 15 million followers on the platform.
Donald Trump began his new TikTok video with these words, “To all of those young people of TikTok, I saved TikTok, so you owe me big. And now, you’re looking at me in the Oval Office. Someday, one of you is going to be sitting right at this desk – and you’re going to be doing a great job also.”
Donald Trump shares new video:
“To all those young people of TikTok, I saved TikTok, so you owe me big….” pic.twitter.com/kMpiczSmYK
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) October 6, 2025
As is the case with any social media platform, users were quick to react to Trump’s new TikTok clip, which was reposted across X. The Internet didn’t buy Donald Trump’s “saved TikTok” narrative. A user wrote, “You didn’t save TikTok. You put that business into billionaire hands. TRUMP-CON.”
Another one wrote, “No one owes you anything.” A second added, “No TikTok for me.” Inputs from another user, “I don’t know how I feel about this move.”
An Internet user used the opportunity to address the ongoing government shutdown and commented, “Well how about – get America back open and prioritize paying your American people. You can finger-point all day but you were elected leader, so act like it and stop being childish. Figure it out MAGA.”
“Trump saves TikTok? He tried to destroy it,” read a post from a netizen. “By saving TikTok, how did Trump put America first,” another user asked. “No Gen Z, nor any member of other generations owe Trump anything and TikTok most likely will fold for lack of interest eventually,” read a comment from a user.
“Bruh, Trump, you literally tried to ban TikTok back in the day and now you’re out here claiming you saved it? Cap. We don’t owe you squat—Gen Z built this app’s vibe, not your flip-flopping,” wrote a user.
Turns out Donald Trump wasn’t the only one to return to the platform. Vice President JD Vance marked his return with a video where he says, “Hey guys, JD Vance here. Just wanted to let you know that we are relaunching The VP’s TikTok page. I got a little lazy the last few months. Was focused on the job of being VP and not on TikTok… That’s about to change.”
JD Vance, in his new TikTok entry, promised to update his followers on what’s happening in The White House, business of state, on what’s going on politically and “maybe some sombrero memes here and there.”
Glad to be back on TikTok thanks to President Trump! Follow along over on TikTok for more updates from the White House, and maybe even some sombrero memes pic.twitter.com/ltHvzkNbls
— JD Vance (@JDVance) October 6, 2025
Both Donald Trump and JD Vance hadn’t used their respective TikTok accounts since November last year. The last videos posted by them on the platform were to encourage voting in the Presidential elections.
The videos have been posted almost a month after US and China signed a deal for the app to remain operational in US. “We have a deal on TikTok … We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it,” Trump said post the meeting in Madrid last month.
Donald Trump’s initial proposal to ban the app was due to ByteDance’s links to the Chinese government, which could possibly threaten national security. However, the decision came to a halt for the third time in September this year. In his Truth Social post, Trump revealed that he “signed the Executive Order extending the Deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days.”
