Trump says he is more popular on TikTok than Taylor Swift

President Donald Trump has said multiple times this week that he is “No. 1” on TikTok.

“The new numbers just came out,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday. “Do you know who the #1 person on TikTok is by far? Trump. Me,” he said. The president added that he surpassed Taylor Swift, who he said was “number 11” on the social media app.

As of July 9, Trump has 16.7 million followers on TikTok. Taylor Swift trails just over twice Trump’s TikTok following, with 33.5 million followers as of July 9.

The most followed person on the application is Khabane Lame, a Senegalese and Italian phenomenon known for his comedy sketches. Lame has 162.3 million followers on the video sharing platform. That’s almost 10 times more followers than Trump.

After Lame, the second most followed person on TikTok is 22-year-old Charli D’Amelio, who rose to fame after her dance videos began going viral in late 2019. He has 159.2 million followers.

“I was No. 1,” Trump said at the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday. “All these entertainers, numbers 27, 29, it’s crazy. Even I don’t understand myself, but it means my word gets out.”

One Sunday Real Social This post adds some clarity to Trump’s claims. Trump posted a message from TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew saying the president is the No. 1 most-followed world leader on the app.

When asked for comment on the difference, the White House referred to the following statement: second Trump’s original Truth Social post republished.

According to CNBC’s analysis, Trump has the most followers on the app among world leaders. He is followed by Nayib Bukele from El Salvador with 12.9 million followers, Claudia Sheinbaum from Mexico with 9.3 million followers, and Emmanuel Macron from France with 7.3 million followers.

Many world leaders do not have TikTok accounts, including China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and many presidents of Middle Eastern countries. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached 1.5 million followers on the social media platform.

On the other side of the aisle, former Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running against Trump in the 2024 presidential election, has 10.1 million followers on the app. Former Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden do not have official accounts.

Trump’s TikTok content mostly consists of short videos in which he sits in the Oval Office and speaks directly to viewers about various presidential priorities, announcements, and initiatives.

Some videos seem more cheerful than others; In a May 26 video, he explains why he chose the nickname “Dumocrats” for the Democrats.

“This is just a one-letter change,” he said in the video. “They look like really stupid people.”

Another video from May shows the president grabbing late-night television host Stephen Colbert, throwing him into a trash can onstage, and then dancing to the Village People’s popular song “YMCA.”

He said he used the platform at this week’s NATO summit to talk about U.S. success and “how bad Communism is.”

On other social media platforms such as X, the president has reached 111.7 million followers. He has 44 million followers on Instagram and 12.9 million followers on Truth Social.