“His profile looks like a hate account”: Biden’s TikTok appearance could be an own goal At least 44 dead in fire at shopping center in Bangladesh

Is Joe Biden too old to run for president again? About three-quarters of the American electorate and almost half of all Democratic voters currently answer yes to this question. The American president now wants to counter this – on TikTok, the app for the young generation.

There, the 81-year-old appears in interviews and speeches – reminding his followers of the moment he told Donald Trump to shut up during a presidential debate. In one of the most recent videos, he responds to a reporter who asks about his health check results: “They think I look too young.”

In the past, Biden has often relied on influencers and celebrities like Taylor Swift to spread his messages to young people. With the new TikTok account, the Biden campaign team says it wants to create content “that is engaging, native and tailored to the audience on TikTok.” The campaign is currently still experimenting with how it wants to use the app. So far the account still seems a bit chaotic.

But one thing stands out above all: his rival can be seen in many videos. Content is regularly uploaded with titles such as “Trump confused on stage”. For Valentine’s Day, Biden posted the message “I love you almost as much as Trump loves banning abortion” on a pink background. In total, about a third of the content on the ‘bidenHQ’ profile is dedicated to Donald Trump.

The young people are turning away from Biden

It’s no coincidence that Biden is working so hard on his opponent. The president has reportedly ordered campaign officials to focus more on the “crazy things” Trump says.

The plan may seem sensible at first glance. Highlighting Trump’s mistakes and controversial ideas could distract from his own problems – and the president has had enough of them – especially among the ‘TikTok generation’, as current surveys show:

While Biden convinced a large part of the young population in the last presidential election in 2020, today only 43 percent of that same group supports him – less than Trump, who is popular with 49 percent of young people. Even among young Democrats between the ages of 18 and 29, Biden’s approval rating is just 62 percent, according to a fall 2023 Harvard Kennedy School poll.

Moreover, according to a November NBC poll, as many as 70 percent of voters between the ages of 18 and 34 disagree with Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza. Many Democrats are therefore concerned that young people might boycott the election, support Trump or vote for a third-party candidate.

“Profile looks like a hate account”

With his TikTok performance, Joe Biden wants to turn the tide among young people. But: can it work?

We asked Swiss TikTokers to look at the president’s profile. You know what drives Generation Z. They also noticed the focus on Donald Trump: “The profile almost seems like a hate account against Trump,” says TikToker Salome Artho.

The 21-year-old from Zurich has so far amassed over 20,000 followers and almost a million likes on the platform with her dialect videos on lifestyle and social topics. “Maybe it would be better if he focused more on himself and informed himself about political issues instead of talking so much about his competition,” she thinks.

Jonathan Baranowski sees it the same way: “Biden often teases Trump for his reason. But social media doesn’t always have to be such an opposition.” Instead, the US president should focus more on his ‘brand’ – his brand – said the 23-year-old from Basel. With almost 227,000 followers and 9.5 million likes, his comedy content on the platform is currently significantly more popular than the US president, who has 204,000 followers and 1.9 million likes.

Explain political content in a “Tubeli-proof” way

“Biden doesn’t have that many followers for his popularity,” says Salome Artho. So what to do? According to Siria Berli, co-founder of the Swiss TikTok agency Equipe, the following five points are important for a politician’s successful TikTok appearance: post regularly, integrate political messages into trends, adapt the content to the TikTok aesthetic ( short and dynamic, portrait format, animations). ), offer personal insights and contain interactive formats such as Q&As (question-answer) or quizzes.

TikToker Salome Artho thinks specifically of Biden’s profile: “The account needs more informative content in TikTok language.” It is important that political topics are explained ‘tube-proof’ on stage, as many people have nothing to do with politics. Jonathan Baranowski wants Biden to become closer to the public: “It would be nice if, for example, he took the mobile phone into his own hands and took us on ‘a day as president’.”

“That’s not how you win the generation”

One person who knows and uses such formats is controversial independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK). With almost 800,000 followers and 12.6 million likes, he reaches significantly more people than Joe Biden. On the account “teamkennedy2024”, the 70-year-old can sometimes be seen topless doing push-ups. There are also explanatory videos, selfie shots, and answers to questions like “Is RFK a conspiracy theorist?” The combination arrives. Comments like: “That’s my president!” can be found under almost every video.

It is clear why more and more politicians are on TikTok: the popularity of the platform has increased enormously in recent years. According to the company, almost half of the US population is registered with the Chinese app. It is the most important news and information source for Generation Z (aged 15 to 28). Just last year, the Biden administration ordered them removed from government workers’ phones and devices for security reasons.

Biden’s opponent Donald Trump, on the other hand, relies on his own social media strategy. The ex-president stays away from TikTok. He would much rather complain about Democrats on his own platform, “Truth Social.” In any case, the aggressive messages fit the image of Donald Trump better than the otherwise mild-mannered Joe Biden.