Biden makes a Super Bowl TikTok flip-flop
National security risk or not, the president's reelection campaign is hoping to meet younger voters where they are


In many ways, the 2024 election is shaping up to be a frustratingly familiar affair, with President Joe Biden likely set to face off against former President Donald Trump once more in a de facto continuation of their previous match-up. At the same time, that broad familiarity often breeds a fair bit of weirdness at the margins, where campaigns do everything they can to shake up the dynamics of what might otherwise be a staid and uninspiring race.
It was in that spirit of unexpected disruption that the Biden campaign on Sunday debuted its newest effort to reach younger voters, posting a brief Super Bowl-themed Q&A on TikTok with the simple caption "lol hey guys."
@bidenhq lol hey guys
♬ Fox nfl theme - Notrandompostsguy
While the video itself is fairly innocuous (save for the brief skewering of a bizarre right-wing conspiracy theory that Biden was working in consort with the NFL and Taylor Swift to engineer an electorally advantageous Super Bowl outcome) the fact that it exists at all is notable. Just eight months earlier, the Biden campaign disavowed any plans for an official TikTok account, opting instead to "[lean] on influencers and surrogates," said NBC News this past summer. Crucially, TikTok is barred on most government devices over fears of algorithmic manipulation and data collection from the Chinese-owned app.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Given the ongoing governmental skepticism and animosity directed at TikTok, what's behind the Biden team's sudden flip-flop, and will it really make a difference when voters head to the polls in November?
'Meeting voters where they are'
The Biden campaign justified its election-year TikTok about-face in a statement to Axios, calling its new account a way to get its message across "every channel and every platform possible" in a media environment that is more "fragmented and personalized than ever." The campaign also stressed that it was "incorporating a sophisticated security protocol" for its use of the app, although it did not expand on what those measures are. Ultimately, the Biden team hopes its foray into TikTok will help with "meeting voters where they are" said campaign officials who spoke with NBC News, which noted the app has become a "powerful tool in mobilizing Gen Z in previous elections."
The campaign's debut on TikTok comes as the Biden team has "leaned hard into memes," The Washington Post said, highlighting the account's "Dark Brandon" avatar. Nevertheless, Biden has "jeopardized his standing with younger voters" lately and "drew scrutiny" for eschewing a traditional presidential Super Bowl interview, said The Wall Street Journal, which labeled the new TikTok strategy an "about-face" for the administration.
This White House has "carried on a love-hate relationship" with TikTok, said CNBC, noting that while the administration has "openly courted TikTok stars and content producers" to help spread its messages, it has also "tacitly agreed" with "China-skeptical lawmakers" who have criticized the app.
Ultimately, whether Biden's team can "make the 81-year-old president look cool on the platform" is an "open question," The New York Times said, adding that the video had racked up more than 4.5 million views as of Monday morning.
'Using a Chinese spy app'
Several Republican lawmakers wasted little time lashing out at the president for joining the controversial app, with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Monday saying on X that "just like TikTok, Temu or any Chinese tech company must allow the Communist Party unfettered access to its data" which should be a "non-starter" for operating in the U.S. Earlier this month Cotton drew condemnation for a contentious hearing with TikTok CEO Shou Chew, in which the senator accused the Singaporean executive of being beholden to China. The back and forth was described as "ignorant — or even racist" by fellow Singaporeans, said PBS Newshour.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) was even more direct in his criticism of Biden for "using a Chinese spy app."
Biden campaign bragging about using a Chinese spy app even though Biden signed a law banning it on all federal devices https://t.co/hEXKGuNrvrFebruary 12, 2024
Ultimately, the example Biden is setting "might be even more damaging" than the acute national security risks of his account, said the National Review. By embracing TikTok, the president is "creating a permission structure" for other politicians to join him, and "signaling to Americans that they shouldn't listen to the severe alarm" of his own national security officials.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 4, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - deportation, Canadian politeness, and more
-
5 low approval cartoons about poll numbers
Cartoons Artists take on fake pollsters, shared disapproval, and more
-
Deepfakes and impostors: the brave new world of AI jobseeking
In The Spotlight More than 80% of large companies use AI in their hiring process, but increasingly job candidates are getting in on the act
-
Trump moves to gut PBS and NPR in latest salvo against the media
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The president's executive order targeting two of the nation's largest public broadcasters comes as the White House seeks to radically reframe how Americans get their news
-
Kamala Harris steps back on center stage
IN THE SPOTLIGHT In her first major speech since Donald Trump took office, the former presidential candidate took solid aim at this administration as speculation grows about her future
-
Trump's crypto 'sea change' upends Washington's finances
In the Spotlight By embracing digital currency, the White House is clearing a path for a new era in dubious self-enrichment
-
Is the UK's two-party system finally over?
Today's Big Question 'Unprecedented fragmentation puts voters on a collision course with the electoral system'
-
David Hogg challenges Democrats' 'ineffective' old guard
Talking Points He plans to fund primary challenges to Democratic incumbents
-
A running list of RFK Jr.'s controversies
In Depth The man atop the Department of Health and Human Services has had no shortage of scandals over the years
-
Conspiracy theorists circle again following RFK file release
The Explainer Both RFK and his brother, President John F. Kennedy, have been the subjects of conspiracies
-
Trump tariffs place trucking industry in the crosshairs
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the White House barrels ahead with its massive tariff project, American truckers are feeling the heat from a global trade war