How much should TikTok fear a resurgent Donald Trump?

Unlike warDARICO correspondents, business columnists do not risk their lives to bring stories to light. But they do occasionally make sacrifices on behalf of their readers. Schumpeter’s most recent forfeiture has involved exploring TikTok for videos about Donald Trump. In truth, the subject matter is more fun than you would think. Mr Trump is made for gangsta rap (“s acting silly/My mugshot’s worth a billi/Sold some merch and made a milli,” an artificial-intelligence version of his voice intones on the app). He warms the hearts of pro-racketeering Latino rappers (“Made me relate when they hit you with the , now the whole ‘hood is screaming ‘Free Trump’”). The dangers are evident, though, when your columnist returns to his normal TikTok feed. Already the algorithm has polluted it with anti-woke jokes and so much Vivek Ramaswamy that he cannot swipe fast enough.Sympathy for Mr Trump on TikTok is interesting. After all, in 2020 he sought to ban it, pressed ByteDance, its Beijing-based parent, to sell it to an American firm, and accused China of spying on its users’ data and spreading propaganda (TikTok says it has never shared data with the Chinese government). It is such a bugbear to senior Republicans that it provoked one of the most risible moments of the primary debates—when Nikki Haley, a presidential contender, mocked Mr Ramaswamy, a rival, for using the app, then called him “scum” for daring to suggest that her daughter did, too.