ISTANBUL

Former US President Donald Trump has joined TikTok, the popular short video platform, despite his attempts to ban the app during his presidency.

Trump's first post on the platform was a brief 13-second clip on Saturday, seemingly recorded during his attendance at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event in the state of New Jersey, just days after he was convicted in a New York courtroom on 34 felony counts over hush money payments.

In the scene, Trump stands alongside UFC President Dana White, who said: "The president is now on TikTok."

"It's my honor," said Trump, as the video shifted to shots of the former president interacting with fans at the arena.

Saturday's action marks a significant departure from Trump's stance just a few years back, when he signed an executive order aiming to ban TikTok in the US.

However, the order was blocked by the courts.

“The United States must take aggressive action against the owners of TikTok to protect our national security,” said the executive order signed by Trump in 2020.

Trump first announced his change of heart on TikTok this March, after meeting with Jeff Yass, a supporter of the Republican Party and major investor in TikTok.

In 2016, in announcing his first presidential run, Trump boasted that his billionaire status would make him immune from being influenced by moneyed interests.

TikTok legal challenges

President Joe Biden on April 24 signed a bill that could lead to a ban on TikTok unless its Chinese owner sells the video-sharing social media platform.

The bill gives ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese owner, nine months to sell its stake, with the potential for an additional three-month grace period, or the app will be banned in the US.

The bill was passed by Congress and signed by Biden amid suspicions that ByteDance could share data about US users with the Chinese government.