What happened to the TikTok ban? Walz, Buttigieg and more make their debut

Several politicians have joined TikTok in recent weeks as a ban on the popular video app looms.

Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, Pete Buttigieg, JD Vance and Donald Trump have all joined TikTok as the race ramps up and campaign strategists scramble to influence young voters. But their accounts come amid a contentious legal battle between the US Department of Justice and TikTok over a potential ban on the social media app.

Transportation Secretary Buttigieg joined the platform earlier this week, joking in his first post that viewers might recognize him from Fox News.

That came after Walz joined the app last week, quickly amassing more than 1 million followers. Vance, meanwhile, joined TikTok earlier this month and has since gained over 450,000 followers.

Harris also created a personal account just days after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race.

Trump jumped on the TikTok bandwagon months ago, however, joining in June and amassing millions of followers. Trump has flipped on his support for a ban, initially pushing for one during his presidency before speaking out against the legislation earlier this year.

“If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business,” Trump said in March, referring to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

In April, Biden signed a bill that forces the Chinese company ByteDance to either sell their app or be banned from US app stores within a year — meaning the app will stick around through the election.

TikTok has since sued the US, arguing the bill unfairly singles it out and violates the First Amendment.

“Never before has Congress expressly singled out and shut down a specific speech forum,” TikTok’s attorneys wrote in June. “Never before has Congress silenced so much speech