Trump Claims He Is ‘No. 1 on TikTok,’ but Shared Figures Tell a Different Story
Washington, D.C. — US President Donald Trump has claimed he is the “No. 1” person on TikTok and suggested that pop superstar Taylor Swift ranks 11th on the platform. However, the figures he appeared to reference do not support that broader claim.
Speaking during a White House press conference while discussing TikTok and his new Trump Accounts programme, Trump told reporters that “new numbers” showed he was the platform’s top figure.
“Now there’s a thing called TikTok. Have you heard of it?” Trump said, mistakenly referring to the app as “Tic Tac” before adding, “You know who the number one person in TikTok is by far? Trump, me.”
He continued by saying, “Taylor Swift was No. 11. I’m No. 1 in TikTok by far.”
Viral Graphic Focused on World Leaders
Trump’s comments appeared to reference a graphic he shared on Truth Social a day earlier. Reports indicate the graphic originated from TikTok CEO Shou Chew, but it made a much narrower claim than the one Trump described.
Rather than ranking the most popular TikTok accounts overall, the graphic identified Trump as the “#1 most followed and watched world leader on TikTok.”
Since Taylor Swift is an entertainer rather than a political leader, she would not be included in that category. The graphic also contained no ranking placing Swift at No. 11.
Hashtag Views Differ From Account Popularity
The graphic also highlighted that #Trump content had accumulated 425 billion all-time views, alongside billions of views for other Trump-related topics.
However, these figures largely represent hashtag and topic views across TikTok, including videos created by millions of users discussing Trump. They do not reflect views or followers of Trump’s official TikTok account alone.
Hashtag totals typically include content that is supportive, critical, or neutral, making them a measure of overall discussion rather than an individual’s audience or popularity.
As a result, while the shared figures suggest Trump dominates conversations among world leaders on TikTok, they do not establish that he is the platform’s most-followed or most-popular user overall, nor do they support the claim that Taylor Swift ranks 11th.
