President Joe Biden has finally made his debut on TikTok. He entered the world of this popular media with a 30-second video of the Super Bowl. In the video, Biden was seen at home, engaging in a Super Bowl-themed question-and-answer session. The caption accompanying the video humorously read, “lol hey guys.”
🚨 DARK BRANDON OFFICIALY ON TIKTOK The Biden Team just dropped their first video 👇. Follow them 🏈: https://t.co/QWy2tIMlz3 pic.twitter.com/GJhO33pfxU
— Chris D. Jackson (@ChrisDJackson) February 12, 2024
Under ‘intense pressure’ from a staff member, Biden declined to choose between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs, instead declaring his support for the First Lady’s Philadelphia Eagles, as per The Hill . In addition, Biden chuckled when asked if he would vote for former President Donald Trump or himself in the 2024 elections. Not surprisingly, he chose himself.
CNN: The Biden campaign is going around traditional media. They just joined TikTok. Our resident youth advisors said their first post did well pic.twitter.com/9dqO9tHP0k
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) February 12, 2024
In 2022, the incumbent President passed legislation prohibiting TikTok use on most federal government gadgets; a law has also been approved by a number of states. Concerns that the Chinese government may be able to access user data have prompted lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle to push for the US to ban the ByteDance app. Hence, many were surprised with Biden’s debut on the social media platform.
FELON? Is Biden breaking the law by installing TikTok? pic.twitter.com/oJdJ22DDyd
— @amuse (@amuse) February 12, 2024
Nonetheless, the POTUS is also questioned over a conspiracy theory surrounding Taylor Swift’s Super Bowl performance in the clip. For those unaware, this is referring to a recent (false) claim that Swift’s relationship with Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs was part of a scheme to rig the NFL championship game so she could potentially support Biden’s re-election bid for this November. Naturally, Biden joked, “I’d get in trouble if I told you” about the whole thing.
The White House has previously used TikTok, but never directly . Instead, it has hosted creators in the White House and distributed messages to them about COVID-19 and the conflict in Ukraine. The Biden campaign’s app debut may be an attempt to appeal to the app’s primary user base: younger voters.
In her candidacy for the GOP primary nomination, Nikki Haley publicly demanded that the app be banned by the US government, citing the hazards to youth mental health and worries about supposed Chinese government involvement. Nonetheless, the short video platform continues to enjoy popularity among American youth, a group that contributed to Biden’s election triumph last time. According to officials, the President’s campaign team will handle his TikTok account instead of him, reported Yahoo .
Speaking of the election, many netizens feel both former President Trump and President Biden actually provided a clear picture of their political drawbacks, which has made many Americans wish they had other options in 2024. The 81-year-old Biden is strongly rejecting inquiries about his memory and age, trying to calm voters’ concerns that he won’t be able to complete a second term in office. Moreover, Trump displayed extreme behavior over the weekend, going as far as to slam Swift for being ‘disloyal,’ further casting further doubt on his temperament and emotional suitability for the White House .