AOC Criticizes TikTok for Praising Trump for Vowing to Delay Ban: ‘Not President Right Now’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) criticized TikTok for praising President-elect Donald Trump for vowing to delay a ban on TikTok, stating that he is “not president right now.”

In stories on Instagram, Ocasio-Cortez referenced a message that appeared on TikTok after the social media app was restored in the United States for Americans to access. Ocasio-Cortez criticized the app for praising Trump for calling for companies to not allow the app to remain dark, and for stating he would issue an Executive Order delaying a ban on the social media app.

Ocasio-Cortez also criticized the app for calling Trump, “President Trump,” and pointed out that Trump “is not president right now” and is still “a private citizen.”

“Welcome back! Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.,” Ocasio-Cortez said as she read the message that appeared on TikTok. “First of all, Donald Trump is not president right now. He is a private citizen. He does not have access to presidential powers, he does not have the ability to do any of that. So, please understand that TikTok’s decision to name Trump in the notification is a choice. They are signaling that they are privately collaborating. They have agreed to privately collaborate with Donald Trump and the Trump administration.”

Ocasio-Cortez added that TikTok deciding to thank Trump and call him “President Trump,” meant that “every social media platform” in the U.S. has been “taken over by the right-wing.”

“What this effectively means is that every social media platform, mass social media platform in the United States, has been taken over by the right-wing,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “With the exception of Bluesky, but Bluesky’s still very small — relatively. When I say put the pieces together, Elon Musk took over Twitter and there’s open reporting. It’s pretty obvious as well, that they have manipulated the algorithms, they’ve artificially manipulated the algorithms to boost right-wing content on X and to amplify harassment.”

On Sunday, TikTok issued a statement that they were “in the process of restoring” access to American users after Trump had said he would delay a ban on TikTok. The statement came after Trump stated on Truth Social under his Executive Order, “there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark.”

“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark,” Trump wrote. “I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.”

TikTok going dark in the U.S. came after a federal appeals court upheld the law requiring ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok to either sell the app or face a ban in the U.S. As a result, ByteDance had until January 19 to either sell Tiktok or face a ban, unless the president granted a 90-day extension.