US President Donald Trump Claims to Earn $72 Billion on TikTok and Ranks First
US President Donald Trump stated at a rally in Arizona that he earned $72 billion on TikTok and claimed to be ranked first, while Taylor Swift is ranked 19th.
He asserted, "They just issued the ratings," emphasizing that he only speaks positively about the U.S. and not negatively.
Public data shows that Trump's TikTok account has about 17 million followers, while Taylor Swift has about 33.5 million followers, both of which are not the overall first on the platform; the top creator overall is Khaby Lame and others.
Reports also indicate that the U.S. government will receive about $10 billion in fees from facilitating TikTok's U.S. business transaction, which differs from the figures mentioned by Trump.
Trump also mentioned earning profits for the U.S. in relation to Intel transactions and complained about not receiving enough recognition.
Market mechanism: The buyers are TikTok users interested in political figures and celebrity content, while the sellers are the platform and content creators; the event is driven by political rally speeches, with funds flowing towards platform traffic and political exposure, benefiting political figures who enhance visibility through the platform, while the credibility is pressured when actual data does not match public rankings.
Source: Public information
ABAB AI Insight
Donald Trump has long used social media for direct communication, historically citing platform data and transaction results at rallies and press conferences. This time, he juxtaposes TikTok rankings with financial earnings, continuing his approach of influencing public perception through personal narratives.
In terms of capital flow, the TikTok U.S. business transaction involves investors paying fees to the U.S. government, with funds flowing from platform operations and investors to the government. The motivation is to retain platform operations and obtain compensation through transaction arrangements, rather than individuals directly earning advertising or creator income from the platform.
Analogously, similar to other political figures using social media follower data to enhance influence, we are currently in a phase where short video platforms have become important channels for political communication, akin to the early impact of social media on elections and public narratives.
Structurally, this represents a transfer of pricing power and attention economy: platform rankings and financial narratives become part of political capital, with the mechanism binding transaction results to personal visibility, making the relationship between government roles, platform control, and public attention more direct. Meanwhile, the discrepancies between public data and personal statements affect the effectiveness of information dissemination.
ABAB News · Cognitive Laws
- When platform rankings become part of political narratives, data and statements can easily become detached.
- When transaction fees are converted into personal achievements, boundaries can become blurred.
- In attention competition, ranking claims are easier to disseminate than actual follower counts.