The man who served as TikTok ambassador for President-elect Donald Trump during his presidential campaign is confident he will keep his promise to save the platform, as fans of the app grapple with the ban signed by President Joe Biden.
Social media strategist Jack Advent, known by Trump as “TikTok Jack,” spoke to DailyMail.com about the president's handling of the issue during the dramatic platform shifts in the days before his inauguration.
“President Trump is the chief negotiator and master of the 'art of the deal,' who will craft a deal to save TikTok while addressing concerns — promises made, promises kept,” he said in an interview.
TikTok announced it would begin restoring services after going dark for several hours in response to the deadline.
Trump issued a statement early Sunday vowing to sign an executive order to extend the timeline, allowing the app to remain up while further negotiations over the app's ownership continued.
“We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will not be penalized by bringing TikTok to more than 170 million Americans and helping more than 7 million small businesses thrive,” TikTok's statement read .
The news marks a sharp reversal from Trump's initial opposition to TikTok during his first term, after he acknowledged that an entire generation of young people were creating content on the platform.
'Tik-Tok Jack' films newly elected President Donald Trump for his TikTok account
Trump suggested that the United States should have a 50 percent ownership position as part of a deal with TikTok.
'Without American approval, there is no TikTok. With our approval it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions,” he wrote on Truth Social on Sunday morning.
Advent was one of several young TikTok experts leading the president's presence on the platform.
“As President Trump said, he has a warm place in his heart for TikTok – as do the millions of young Americans who use the app and turned the youth vote for President Trump by more than 30 points,” Advent said.
During interviews, events and even live at campaign rallies, Trump shouted out Advent and its success on TikTok.
Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, dances after speaking at a rally in Green Bay, Wis., on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.
'Tik-Tok Jack' films newly elected President Donald Trump for his TikTok account
“We have TikTok Jack working for us, right?” Trump told DailyMail.com in an interview in September. “And we have the largest numbers in TikTok history.”
Trump easily surpassed Vice President Kamala Harris' reach on the platform after launching posts on the platform.
In 2024, Trump held the record for the most viewed political TikTok video of the 2024 election cycle with 178.6 million views.
The team generated 35 billion views across the various @realDonaldTrump and @TeamTrump TikTok accounts and associated hashtags.
TikTok users helped turn the president-elect's famous “Trump Dance” into a viral sensation by posting videos of themselves dancing to The Village People's song YMCA.
Advent told DailyMail.com he was not surprised by Trump's success on the platform.
“What has become the iconic 'Trump Dance' is yet another example of President Trump's natural ability to create viral moments that captivate audiences simply by being himself,” he said.
