Donald Trump Opens New TikTok Account After 34 Guilty Verdicts, Gains 5M Followers In 2 Days: ‘It’s My Honor’
Republican nominee Donald Trump has debuted his first TikTok after initially criticizing the popular app during his previous presidency.
Trump — who initially attempted to ban the cult-favorite app citing its threats to national security back in 2020 — gained a whopping 5 million followers in just 48 hours. His first video was captioned, "Launching my TikTok at UFC 302."
Standing alongside Trump was the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Dana White, who introduced Trump backstage saying, "The president... is now on TikTok."
"It's my honor," Trump responded. The bio written on his page states, "45th President of the United States."
@realdonaldtrump Launching my TikTok at @UFC ♬ original sound - President Donald J Trump
The historical criminal verdict of Trump's hush money trial came to a head on Thursday, regarding hidden payments sent to adult-film star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election, allegedly made to keep her quiet on their alleged affair.
The former president and Republican nominee was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records. The 77-year-old was ultimately hit with 34 felony counts by a Manhattan jury in criminal court.
According to ABC News, Trump has admitted that he will appeal the decision, claiming "bad people" have levied the case, in addition to the charges against him.
Despite the outcome of the trial, the news outlet reported that the former president's favorability remained stable, while reporting that forty-seven percent of Americans believe the charges against Trump were politically motivated.
That said, none of this was enough to keep the Republican candidate from living life, as usual, attending the mixed martial arts event in Newark on Saturday night. He was escorted to sit cageside alongside Dana White.
Trump sets the record as the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime. His debut TikTok video has been viewed over 79 million times and has gained over 5 million likes.