Fact Check: Is Trump's claim that he's No 1 on TikTok while Taylor Swift is No 11 true?
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump addressed TikTok's influence and national security during remarks at the White House, but he also made a surprising comparison with Taylor Swift. The 80-year-old claimed that newly released figures ranked him as the No 1 person on TikTok, while Swift ranked No 11.
Is Trump's claim backed by the platform's follower data? Let's fact-check.
Claim: Trump claims he is ranked No 1 on TikTok while Taylor Swift is No 11
Donald Trump compares his TikTok followers to Taylor Swift:
— Pop Base (@PopBase) July 6, 2026
"It was announced about two days ago, the new numbers just came out. You know who the number one person on Tic Tac is by far? Trump. Me. I’m number one. Taylor Swift was number 11." pic.twitter.com/x7YjoqMXqx
During a White House press briefing on Monday, July 6, Trump spoke about TikTok's influence and national security before bringing up his own popularity on the platform. He said he had learned from a television program that newly released figures ranked him as the No 1 person on TikTok, while Swift was No 11.
"It was announced about two days ago, and the new numbers just came out. You know who the No 1 person on TikTok is, by far? Trump. Me. I'm No 1. Taylor Swift was No 11," Trump said.
He repeated the claim, saying he ranked "by far" as TikTok's top person. Trump also shared, "It was sent to me by — the list comes out No 1 and 2. I was No 1 by a lot. So I guess, I don’t know, maybe they are bad, maybe they are not."
"I know one thing: great American people, tremendous business people, and companies bought it. I called President Xi, and everyone said he was a hard no. I said it’s a good thing for TikTok, but it’s good for us, too. American companies, great ones, own our TikTok, and it is very influential. But I’m No 1 by a lot," Trump added.
Fact Check: False, Donald Trump is not No 1 on TikTok
Donald Trump's claim is false. Although he has a large following on TikTok, he is neither the platform's most-followed creator nor more popular than Taylor Swift based on follower count.
Current public data shows that Swift has about 33.5 million TikTok followers, compared with Trump's roughly 16.6 million. Swift also has around 274.5 million total likes, while Trump's account has about 121.8 million.
Public TikTok rankings further contradict Trump's statement. Neither Trump nor Swift ranks among the platform's top 10 most-followed accounts, which include creators such as Khaby Lame, Charli D'Amelio, and MrBeast.
Despite posting less frequently, Swift has earned significantly more total likes than Trump, indicating stronger overall engagement. Trump also did not provide any evidence or verifiable ranking to support his claim.
