Donald Trump wanted to ban TikTok in 2020 – and people aren’t letting him forget

TikTok users are hoping that Donald Trump will save the app after he’s inaugurated on Monday – but his relationship with TikTok hasn’t always been so straight forward.

The 170 million people who use the app in the US are hoping they might not have to wait all that long to see the app reinstated after it went down – a development which sent users into complete meltdown.

Trump, who will be inaugurated on Monday and recently launched a meme coin, has suggested that he will probably extend the deadline by at least 90 days.

However, it’s not always been that way.

Trump hasn't always been supportive of TikTok Getty/iStock

While he is the great hope for many TikTok users, with some online blaming Joe Biden's administration for the ban, Trump previously tried to get it banned on national security grounds – and people aren’t letting him forget.

The former president garnered over three million followers in just two days after joining the app in July 2024, and his decision to join the platform was widely regarded as an attempt to reach out to young Gen Z voters.

However, back in 2020, he tried to get it banned.

“As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States,” then-president Trump declared to reporters aboard Air Force One in July 2020.

The very next month, Trump tried to ban TikTok through an executive order that said “the spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned” by Chinese companies was a national security threat.

While Trump is being held up by many as the person to save the platform – commentators are pointing out that he only decided not to ban it after releasing it could be a tool for connecting with younger voters.

The Dream for America account posted a collection of headlines pointing out the fact Trump was once in favour of a ban, adding: "To all the young people who think Joe Biden is to blame for the TikTok ban."

The PatriotTakes account also shared a similar message.

Journalist David Leavitt wrote: "Reminder that Donald Trump was the one who originally wanted TikTok banned because people were making viral videos making fun of him injecting bleach."

Journalist Aaron Rupar added: "Trump hated TikTok (because China) until it helped him win an election (as even he acknowledges) and now he’s going to save it and take a victory lap. So he’ll have X, TikTok, Insta, and Facebook all working on his behalf. That’s a big difference between now and 2017."

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