If President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign joined TikTok as part of a desperate strategy to appeal to the youth, it might want to rethink that strategy now.
The president’s campaign started posting on the Chinese-owned social media app this week despite the fact that Biden signed legislation in December 2022 banning federal workers from downloading and using TikTok on government devices.
As NBC News noted on Thursday, after the campaign was criticized for joining the platform — a move it had indicated it wouldn’t make — its TikTok posts are being flooded with hostile comments.
Biden’s posts have been subject to Gen Z’s digital wrath about his policies and his ability to perform his duties.
In addition to trashing the pure cringe that is the TikTok account of an out-of-touch 81-year-old man, users are taking full advantage of the opportunity to rant about the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
Under Biden’s first post — a video with the awkward title of “lol hey guys” wherein he plays a game of “Would You Rather?” — there are angry comments from pro-Palestinian posters interspersed with jokes about his cognitive abilities (“8 hrs edited down to 30 seconds” and “had to wake him up for this one”).
@bidenhqlol hey guys♬ Fox nfl theme – Notrandompostsguy
His second video is plagued with comments about “Butcher Biden” as well as Palestinian flag emojis, and his most recent videos are flooded with similar responses, including countless questions about Rafah (the border city between the Gaza Strip and Egypt).
@bidenhqweird brag♬ Hahahaha again – Kelsey🪖💐
@bidenhqdark brandon♬ original sound – Biden-Harris HQ
The president’s stance on the Middle East is very unpopular with those who regularly use TikTok.
In a recent NBC News poll, only 15 percent of registered voters in the 18-34 demographic said they approved of how the Biden administration has handled the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the outlet reported.
For young TikTok users, nothing less than a full-throated condemnation of Israel and its supposed “genocide” will appease them.
The fact that Biden’s campaign has been on the platform for just a few days and its posts are under siege is not a good sign for the president’s re-election hopes.
Many young people on TikTok hate former President Donald Trump — the GOP front-runner in this fall’s presidential election — with the kind of ferocity usually reserved for serial killers.
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But now that group is directing just as much hatred toward Israel — and those who refuse to condemn its actions.
The TikTok backlash is yet another obstacle Biden and his campaign will have to overcome if they hope to remain in the White House.
