Donald Trump’s 19-year-old son, Barron, could be in the running for a top job at TikTok, according to the president’s former social media manager.
Trump has previously claimed that he “saved” TikTok and that users now “owe” his government for allowing it to remain available in the US.
Jack Advent, the president’s 22-year-old former social media manager, joined in by saying that Trump should give his teen son a position on the social media platform to broaden its appeal for young people.
'Young people are overwhelmingly the user base of TikTok,” Advent told the Daily Mail. “I'm hopeful President Trump will consider appointing his son Barron and maybe other young Americans to TikTok's board to help ensure it remains an app young people want to keep using.”
Barron recently moved back into the White House while he attends classes at New York University’s DC campus and has not commented on Advent’s claims.
According to his mother, first lady Melania Trump, Barron was a key part of Trump’s win in 2024. The Republican leader has also claimed that his son suggested he go on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
The president has had a complicated relationship with TikTok during both of his administrations, suggesting that the app “threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information” during his first term.
Trump later rolled back a ban on the social media platform in January 2025, keeping the platform available while a buyer for the US version was found.
Advent, nicknamed “TikTok Jack” by Trump, told the Daily Mail that the president has “delivered on his promise to save TikTok,” a sentiment echoed by the president himself.
"To all of those young people of TikTok, I saved TikTok, so you owe me big," Trump said, in his first post on the platform since signing the executive order.
The comments section on Trump’s post was divided between people claiming he “saved everything” and others begging him, “Please don’t manipulate TikTok.”
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday, which will allow US investors to access a licensed copy of the app’s robust recommendation algorithm.
American companies will own approximately 65 percent of the US version. ByteDance, the firm that created TikTok, and other Chinese investors will own less than 20 percent of the company.
According to Trump, the new group of investors will be led by Oracle, a software company, helmed by 81-year-old tech billionaire and Republican donor Larry Ellison.
Trump said at a press conference that media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Computers, will also be among the new shareholders.
The president described the group as “great investors.”
Previously, he has also suggested that the social media platform could start prioritising MAGA content.
“I always like MAGA-related,” he said. “If I could, I’d make it 100% MAGA-related.”
However, shortly after, he claimed that “every group will be treated fairly”.
The Independent has approached the White House, Jack Ardent, and TikTok for comment.
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