Donald Trump’s Plan for TikTok Sets up Ideological Battle Over Social Media Control

Key Takeaways

• Donald Trump has vowed to prevent TikTok from being banned in the U.S.
• Some users claim TikTok is censoring anti-Trump content.
• TikTok wouldn’t be the first social media platform to implement policies favored by the president.

In 2020, major social media platforms banned Donald Trump for claiming his rival’s electoral victory was illegitimate.

The move upset many Trump supporters and sowed the seeds for a sweeping overhaul of the social media ecosystem that has taken place since, as platforms, users and politicians have adapted their stance on the controversial president.

This reversal can be observed in the case of TikTok, which Trump once tried to ban in the U.S., but which he now plans to “save” from the same fate.

How Trump Flipped on TikTok

During Trump’s first-term campaign to ban TikTok, critics argued that the plan was politically motivated. At the time, anti-Trump sentiment was rife on the platform and many viewed the president’s crackdown as part of a broader effort to damage Chinese business interests.

Fast-forward to 2025, and Trump’s position on TikTok has shifted dramatically.

Trump’s embrace of TikTok began around March 2024, when he started to publicly declare his opposition to banning the platform.

Does that mean concerns about national security have been resolved? Hardly. Instead, Trump’s statements suggest his newfound popularity on the platform might be behind his heart appears to be related to his newfound popularity among a population that once rejected him.

“For all those that want to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump,” he stated,  last September, “The other side is closing it up. But I’m now a big star on TikTok.”

Within days of creating an account in June 2024, Trump’s election campaign had amassed more followers on TikTok than his rivals.

This success on a platform that is especially popular with young people reflects a more general change in the political winds. Digital spaces that were once hostile to conservative views now embrace the MAGA movement.

As the American right has outmaneuvered the opposition on social media, the platforms themselves have also evolved.

Social Media’s MAGA Transformation

The most radical transformation can be seen with Twitter since it was bought by Elon Musk and rebranded as X. From a diverse forum that hosted healthy debate, in the final months of the 2024 election campaign, the platform descended into little more than a Republican propaganda machine.

A similar shift can be observed with Meta, which has made a number of moves to ingratiate itself to the MAGA movement, including updating its fact-checking policy, appointing more politically aligned leaders and scrapping programs that seem increasingly out of fashion in the age of Trump.

For its part, TikTok also worked to curry Trump’s favor, with CEO Shou Chew meeting with him at Mar-a-Lago, last December, and recently attending his inauguration in Washington.

Based on Trump’s actions since his inauguration, Chew’s efforts have worked. 

After the app came back online after a brief suspension on Sunday, TikTok made sure to let users know the comeback was made possible by Trump’s intervention.

Meanwhile, having signed an Executive Order postponing the enforcement of the U.S. TikTok ban, Trump has boasted that he plans to “save” the platform by negotiating a deal.

But many TikTokers are now asking themselves: at what cost?

TikTok Users Report Rise in Censorship

Even before any deal has officially been struck, some users have reported that the post-Ban TikTok is a much Trumpier place.

“Anti-government/anti-Trump comments [are] getting auto-flagged,” one user claimed . 

Another pointed out  that searches for the term “Donald Trump rigged election” appear to be blocked in the U.S. but not elsewhere.

Finally, users who regularly post content that is critical of Trump and the Republican party claim their engagement numbers have declined since TikTok was rebooted.

It isn’t clear that there is any truth to the claims of TikTok censorship, but whether through overt pressure or the natural evolution of American politics, Trump’s power to influence social media discourse is undisputed.