United States President Donald Trump has credited the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk with pushing him to embrace TikTok as part of his political outreach.
Speaking in an interview on Fox News, Trump recalled how Kirk persistently encouraged him to get on the platform.
“Charlie helped me, and Charlie was the one who used to say to me, ‘get on TikTok,’” Trump said. “Charlie was unbelievable, and I did.”
Trump further explained how his TikTok content strategy was shaped with the help of a figure he identified as ‘TikTok Jack’.
“He put that camera [up] and he said, ‘just a real quick statement, like 10 seconds or less.’ They didn’t like anything over 10 seconds, but it worked,” Trump noted.
Trump also acknowledged his family’s influence in his decision, particularly his youngest son Barron.
“Charlie and my son Barron are the ones that really… and I have to say, Don, Eric, the whole group, it’s important,” he added.
LEADERSHIP reports that Charlie Kirk, 31, co-founder of Turning Point USA and a prominent conservative activist, was fatally shot dead on September 10, 2025, during a public appearance at Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, Utah. The shooting occurred during the first stop of his “American Comeback Tour.”
