In today’s digital era, where social media platforms serve as the battlegrounds for ideas, information and cultural exchange, the conversation around banning TikTok must be approached with caution and a deep understanding of its implications.
With over 170 million American users, TikTok has transcended mere entertainment to become a vital tool for communication, creativity and, notably in the 2024 presidential election, political engagement. President-elect Donald Trump’s strategic embrace of this platform, known for its cultural influence among the younger demographic, was instrumental in clinching his win.
Trump’s campaign, recognizing TikTok’s immense popularity with Gen Z and millennials, took a bold step by integrating the platform into its sprawling social media strategy. This was not just about posting content; it was about understanding and participating in the cultural zeitgeist that TikTok represents.
TikTok was not just a tool but an arena where the political narrative could be shaped in real-time, with direct access to millions of young voters.
Trump’s first video on TikTok, which garnered an astonishing 63 million views within days, was a far cry from traditional campaign ads. Instead, it featured a candid video of him interacting with fans at a UFC event, the honesty of which resonated strongly with the platform’s audience. From the start, no other candidate could come close to his position as the most viral, charismatic and compelling candidate in the field — all qualities which made his messaging style perfect for a platform like TikTok.
As a result, Trump picked up a larger proportion of voters under 30 than any Republican presidential candidate in decades, finishing the year with 23 million followers between his accounts and over 2.8 billion views.
This election cycle, the TikTok audience draws parallels to the “forgotten men and women,” that famously swung the 2016 election Trump’s way: a demographic of hard-working men and women who valued pragmatism and charisma that would see right through Vice President Kamala Harris’ “Brat Summer.” As a movement, we were led to believe that TikTok was a liberal platform, dominated by trends that demean conservatives, but Trump proved that to be false, garnering tens of billions of views and, according to data released by TikTok, making him more popular than Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian and Kamala Harris combined.
Given these results, it is hard to believe that the Harris campaign focused so intensely on “turning the page” that they turned up their noses at Trump’s organically viral and relatable content. Harris opted instead to allow an army of interns to run an account that lacked direct interaction with the candidate, prioritizing trendy, overly-produced and ultimately inauthentic marketing.
By embracing TikTok, the Trump campaign was subverting the gaslighting the Harris campaign built their entire strategy on, by providing followers a chance to see the real Donald Trump — and to find a community of other supporters in the process.
The Left wins when they make conservatives feel alone, and the shareability of Trump’s content and sheer volume of pro-Trump trends across all platforms drowned out Harris’ insincere efforts.
Trump’s promise to “save TikTok” during his campaign positioned him as a candidate who valued free speech and the marketplace of ideas, and the message’s resonance indicates a clear shift in our nation’s values — we’re done with woke nonsense, we’re done with self-censorship and we’re turning the page on decades of Big Tech and Big Government interference in social media.
Given the Republican Party’s discovery of a goldmine of potential lifelong supporters on this platform, legislators pushing for a complete and total ban on TikTok should think long and hard about their stance.
There is a substantive conversation to be had here, and rejecting any platform outright does a disservice to those who believe in empowering free speech for all Americans.
For the first time in my lifetime, the Republican Party met voters at the nexus of politics and culture in a way that made being a Republican “cool” again. Policymakers must now choose whether they want this moment to fade into history or bring millions of young voters into the conservative political home they have been looking for.
Featured Image Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America
