‘He’s a psychopath’: Trump isn’t forgiven for the TikTok ban initiative and the internet roasts his hypocrisy

TikTok has been reinstated and officially thanked President-elect Donald Trump for restoring access to Americans. Despite this, social media users have called the social media platform out for pandering to Trump.

The U.S. Congress push for a TikTok ban went through. While Biden regretted this decision, he claimed that he wouldn’t be enforcing it before he leaves office. Regardless, TikTok decided to shut down its services ahead of time. Tons of artists, content creators, and small business owners lamented the death of TikTok and the loss of their main source of income.

Then, President-elect Donald Trump cryptically posted “SAVE TIKTOK” on Truth Social. Within hours, the app was reinstated. TikTok even credited the president-elect for bringing the app back. They also claimed that they’ll be working with Trump for a “long-term solution.” While it looks as though TikTok’s comeback is Trump’s victory, social media users were quick to point out that Trump hasn’t contributed anything substantial to lifting the ban.

One X user wrote, “He started it, and now he’s going to try to be the one to “save” it so that he can get credit. He’s a psychopath.” This isn’t an uncommon sentiment online. Other social media users have theorized that TikTok worked behind the scenes with Trump to make the shutdown appear more dramatic. Even Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) reminded people through an Instagram story that Trump is yet to be president. Thus, he doesn’t have the presidential power to restore TikTok.

Perhaps the irony in this situation is that Trump initiated the TikTok ban in 2020 during his first presidency. Many have not forgotten about this. Although many have criticized this move from TikTok, there are several creators who’ve already thanked Trump. James Charles expressed his support for Trump after the app was made available again. Another MAGA content creator on X chimed, “Trump remains undefeated.”

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Vanessa Esguerra

Vanessa Esguerra (She/They) has been a Contributing Writer for The Mary Sue since 2023. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy, she (happily) rejected law school in 2021 and has been a full-time content writer since. Vanessa is currently taking her Master's degree in Japanese Studies in hopes of deepening her understanding of the country's media culture in relation to pop culture, women, and queer people like herself. She speaks three languages but still manages to get lost in the subways of Tokyo with her clunky Japanese. Fueled by iced coffee brewed from local cafés in Metro Manila, she also regularly covers anime and video games while queuing for her next match in League of Legends.

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