US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance returned to TikTok on Monday, marking their first posts on the platform since the 2024 presidential election. The reappearance came through a series of videos that celebrated their decision to approve a US-owned version of the app. This is being seen as a sharp reversal from Trump’s earlier attempt to ban TikTok during his first term in 2020.
Donald Trump’s Message to Young TikTok Users
Addressing TikTok’s younger audience, Trump struck a boastful tone in his comeback video.
“To all of those young people of TikTok, I saved TikTok, so you owe me big,” he said from the Oval Office.
“Now, you’re looking at me in the Oval Office, and someday one of you is gonna be sitting right at this desk, and you’re gonna 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
Both Trump and Vance’s accounts were inactive since November 2024, when they last posted brief messages urging Americans to vote in the election.
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TikTok Return: Donald Trump Signs Executive Order
The return to TikTok follows an executive order issued by Trump last month, which approved the creation of an American spinoff of TikTok and granted an additional 120 days for Washington and Beijing to finalize a deal. The move reversed the trajectory set during Trump’s first term, when he had sought to block the platform over national security concerns.
Vance made a similar celebratory tone in his own post, “Glad to be back on TikTok thanks to President Trump!” he wrote.
“Follow along here for more updates from the White House, and maybe even some sombrero memes,” he added, referencing a series of memes the administration has shared since the government shutdown to mock Democrats.
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
From TikTok Ban Threat to ‘Rescue Mission’
Since returning to office this year, Trump has made securing TikTok’s future a priority. On his first day back, he signed an executive order delaying a potential ban, effectively launching what his administration has described as a rescue mission for the app.
The irony of Trump – once TikTok’s most vocal critic – now taking credit for its survival has not gone unnoticed. Meanwhile, a consortium of wealthy U.S. investors, including Lachlan Murdoch, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and Dell CEO Michael Dell, has shown interest in acquiring stakes as negotiations near their conclusion.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
