President Donald Trump is claiming he’s the king of TikTok after coverage of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding took over social media this past weekend.
During a Monday, July 6, press conference at the White House, Trump, 80, went on a tangent about his popularity while speaking about the controversial topic of China’s involvement in TikTok in the U.S.
“It was announced about two days ago. The new numbers just came out. You know who the No. 1 person in TikTok is by far?” Trump asked reporters via the Economic Times, claiming, “Trump, me. I’m No. 1.”
The president further alleged, “Like, Taylor Swift was number 11. I’m No. 1 in TikTok by far.”
Trump then briefly acknowledged the fact that some people are worried about the “dangers” of TikTok — including allegations that the Chinese government is “spying” on users. (TikTok was created in China in 2016 before the platform began running as an independent entity in America starting in January.)
He noted that he’s heard worries that the platform is “a tremendous danger because of the influence.”
Trump, however, argued that if TikTok is negatively influencing users, his messages are doing the opposite, claiming, “I’m saying all things like, ‘I love our country, we have to stop Communism.’”
He once again alleged, “I was number one by a lot” on the social media site. “So I guess, I don’t know, maybe they are bad, maybe they are not.”
Trump added that the “one thing” he does know about TikTok is that “great American people, tremendous business people, and companies bought it.”
Before jumping to the next topic, Trump reiterated how popular he’s been on the platform, saying, “I’m No. 1 on TikTok. I think it helped me win the election in a landslide if you want to know the truth.”
Although Trump boasted his prowess as TikTok’s biggest influencer, the numbers do not appear to back up his claims.
The @realdonaldtrump handle on TikTok, which is the president’s official and main page, has 16.6 million followers as of Monday. He also has 121.8 million “likes,” according to his landing page.
The @teamtrump TikTok account, which was the official page for the Trump Campaign, has 13.8 million followers and 374.2 million “likes,” per the site.
The White House’s official TikTok page, meanwhile, has just 7 million followers and 148.6 million “likes.”
While Trump’s numbers are bigger than most people, he does not surpass Swift, 36, whose TikTok has 33.5 million followers. As of Monday, the Grammy winner has 274.5 million “likes” as well, which puts her above the president both in followers and likes.
When it comes to who has the most followers in 2026, Epidemic Sound reported on Monday that honor goes to Senegalese-Italian influencer Khaby Lame, who the outlet revealed has amassed 162.3 million followers.
The No. 2 spot on the outlet’s list is American influencer Charli D’Amelio with 159.1 million and MrBeast with 129.1 million.
While neither Trump nor Swift top Epidemic Sound’s list, Trump’s use of the popstar as a goalpost in his own statement comes after Swift and Kelce’s wedding at Madison Square Garden, which took the internet by storm over 4th of July weekend.
The couple tied the knot on Friday, July 3, at the iconic New York City venue with around 1,000 NFL players, musicians, celebrities and friends being invited.
“Long live a love story ❤️,” country singer Kelsea Ballerini wrote via Instagram after the ceremony. “Congrats on the most beautiful wedding @taylorswift @killatrav I’m still crying and dancing.”
Kelce’s friend DJ Chop UFL captioned his own Instagram upload, “The secret garden was an unbelievable celebration and experience. So happy for my brother and sister Trav & Tay Tay 🙌🏾 .Congratulations once again! Yesterday was perfect.”
