The Complete Turnaround

Here's a story about changing your mind on a massive scale. President Donald Trump spent much of his first term in the White House trying to ban TikTok, citing national security risks tied to its Chinese ownership. Fast forward to 2024, and he's joined the platform himself, using it to reach millions of voters directly—especially younger users who practically live on the app.

Trump's TikTok debut was pure Trump: a high-energy video filmed at a UFC fight in Newark, New Jersey, where he waved to fans, posed for selfies and directly addressed viewers. It turns out that what looks like a national security threat from the Oval Office can look like a political goldmine from the campaign trail.

The about-face came with some corporate maneuvering too. In December 2025, reports surfaced that TikTok had entered binding agreements with a consortium of investors—including Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX—to create a new U.S.-based TikTok entity. Problem solved, apparently.

The Numbers Are Staggering

According to a TikTok year-in-review graphic Trump shared on Truth Social this week, videos tagged with #Trump have pulled in roughly 339 billion all-time views on the platform. That's billion with a B.

In 2025 alone, #MAGA videos generated about 201 billion views, while #Trump content added another 166 billion views. These figures capture all user-generated content related to Trump, not just posts from his official account. Viral spikes came during major moments like his inauguration, peace deal announcements and various high-profile public appearances.

The scale of Trump's digital footprint on TikTok is hard to overstate. It's turned into one of his most effective channels for political influence, proving that sometimes the platform you tried to ban becomes the platform you can't live without.

Follower Count Reality Check

Trump currently has more than 16 million followers on TikTok, making him one of the most-followed political figures on the platform. That's genuinely impressive for a politician. But if we're being honest, he's nowhere near TikTok's biggest global creators.

The top of the TikTok food chain looks like this: Khaby Lame has more than 160 million followers, Charli D'Amelio sits at 156 million, MrBeast has nearly 124 million, Bella Poarch commands about 93 million and TikTok's official account has more than 92 million followers.

Still, for someone who once wanted the app banned entirely, 16 million followers and hundreds of billions of views isn't a bad consolation prize.