Trump Declares TikTok Harmless Because He's No. 1 on It

There is a way of thinking in which the world ends at one's own reflection, and Donald Trump has provided another example of it. Asked whether shares of SpaceX would be donated for use in the so called Trump Accounts, the president did not answer the question. Instead, he began talking about how TikTok had helped him become president again. He said he had seen a news report about the app's alleged dangers and realized that he was the number one person on the platform. He then questioned how dangerous the app could really be. If he were telling the truth, Trump said, it had helped him win the election by a wide margin.

One has to follow this line of reasoning for a moment to fully grasp its nature. TikTok has been considered a security risk for years. The debate has centered on data collection, the influence of a foreign government, and the platform's impact on young people. None of that seems to matter to Trump. For him, the question of whether the app is dangerous is answered by a single measure - his own position at the top of the rankings. He is number one, therefore it cannot be all that bad. It is the logic of a man who judges the world not by what it is, but by how useful it is to him.

Präsident Trump: „Die neuen Zahlen sind gerade veröffentlicht worden. Wisst ihr, wer mit großem Abstand die Nummer eins auf TikTok ist? Trump. Ich!“ „Taylor Swift war auf Platz 11.“

It is equally revealing how casually he acknowledges something others have speculated about for a long time. TikTok, he said, helped him win. That is a statement that should set off every alarm bell, because it confirms exactly what critics have warned about for years - that the platform has political influence reaching far beyond entertainment. Trump, however, presents it as a compliment rather than an admission. What others see as a reason for concern, he sees as a reason for gratitude. The potential harm to democracy is recast as a personal success story.

Then, when asked about SpaceX, came an almost unintentionally revealing remark. He said he is a cheerleader for geniuses and that he speaks with many of them, including Elon Musk, who founded the rocket company. A president describing himself as a cheerleader for the powerful is remarkable in itself. A cheerleader stands on the sidelines and applauds. A cheerleader does not carry responsibility for the game. A cheerleader simply cheers. For the highest office in the country, that is an unusual role to embrace. One expects a president to hold the powerful accountable, not to applaud them.

This is where the real abyss begins, and it extends far beyond a single remark. Power has always tended to make itself the measure of all things. It begins by confusing the public good with personal advantage, and it ends by losing the ability to distinguish between the two. When something that poses a risk to the country ceases to be a risk simply because it advances one's own ambitions, the line between public office and private interest has not merely been blurred. It has disappeared. The president becomes the customer of his own policies, and the country becomes the backdrop for his personal success story.

In the end, what remains is a brief and seemingly harmless exchange that nevertheless reveals an entire worldview. A question about stock shares becomes an opportunity for self celebration. A warning about an app becomes a compliment because it benefited the right person. And a president describes himself as an admirer of geniuses instead of a servant of the people. It is not the kind of headline that erupts into a major scandal. It is something quieter, and therefore far more disturbing.

It is the casual proof that, for this man, the world extends exactly as far as his own advantage, and not a single step beyond.