Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Gen Z influencers who are reeling after the Biden administration banned TikTok, causing the social media platform to shut down for 12 hours, all have one thing to say after their favorite app reopened Sunday: Thank you, President Trump.
“I’ve got to keep it real, I’m smashing the hell out right now… it’s such a dystopia,” said makeup artist James Charles in a Saturday Instagram post that has more than 800,000 likes. Charles lamented that he no longer had access to the program that had been such an important force in his life.
“Now I’m rooting for Trump, I think I’ll make America goddamn great again.”
SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS FOLLOWING TIKTOK BAN
President-elect Trump is pictured in front of the TikTok logo. (Getty Images)
More than 170 million US users were unable to access TikTok on Saturday night, with the app displaying a message saying it would be offline until further notice. The app was no longer available on Google or the App Store. In April, the Biden administration signed a law requiring TikTok’s parent corporation Bytedance, which is affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, to divest from the company in April or face being shut down in the United States. On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the law.
“A law has been passed in the US that bans TikTok. Unfortunately, this means you can’t use TikTok for now,” the message read in part. The next morning, users received a new message saying that the app had reopened “as a result of President Trump’s efforts.”
Influencers were quick to celebrate the revival of their favorite social media app, with users praising President-elect Trump for helping to revive TikTok after he said he would likely extend the app for 90 days to comply with the law.
TikTok influencers expressed their displeasure with the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the federal law banning TikTok. (Screenshot/Alex Perlman/Emily Sen/Madeline Cameron)
“My birthday wish came true!!! Make TikTok great again! Worst 10 hours of my life,” he wrote TikTok user JFernandez81 Sunday, along with a video of the influencer belting out “you appreciate” from 2pac’s Dear Mama.
“Thank you! Thank you, Mr. Trump! We love you! We love you Papi,” wrote TikTok user soyelmajedelvideooficial in a video that got more than 2000 likes.
Christina Dunn influencer merit of the future president with the app’s return to the Internet, saying “he’s the reason TikTok is back,” she said, wearing a shirt with the pre-elect’s face on it.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE MEDIA AND CULTURE ENCOURAGEMENT
Even TikTok CEO Shaw Chu thanked Trump for his efforts to keep his app online in the US.
“I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to working with us to find a solution that will preserve TikTok’s access in the United States,” Chu said in a video posted on his own TikTok channel on Friday.
