\u201cDon\u2019t jump, I need you!\u201d Biden joked to a group of TikTok influencers as he walked by the group standing on the White House balcony on his way to deliver his State of the Union speech earlier this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In recent months, some of the biggest TikTok users with accounts boasting millions of followers have visited the White House, visitor logs reveal. Since September alone, some of the most prominent examples include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- Jason Linton, a dad who posts wholesome content about his family and whose TikTok account @dadlifejason<\/a> has 13.8 million followers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Michael Junchaya, (who goes by \u201cMikey Angelo\u201d on the handle @mrgrandeofficial<\/a>, 3.5 million followers), a young entertainer who specializes in rap recap videos.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mona Swain (@monaswain<\/a>, 1.9 million followers), theater enthusiast.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Alexandra Doten, space communicator, who previously worked for NASA (going by \u201cAstro Alexandra\u201d @astro_alexandra<\/a>, 2.3 million followers).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Andrew Townsend (going by \u201cPapi Dre\u201d @andrewtowns<\/a>, 3.1 million followers).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Alex Pearlman (@pearlmania<\/a>, 2.6 million followers), comedian. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Josh Helfgott (@joshhelfgott<\/a>, 5.5 million followers), LGBTQ+ advocate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps the biggest TikToker hobnobbing at the White House was Oneya Johnson, a viral sensation famous for his angry reaction videos (@angryreactions) boasting 27 million followers. He visited the White House on September 27. (Johnson has since deleted his account after being arrested<\/a> for domestic violence.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Each of these TikTokkers\u2019 meetings was coordinated by White House deputy director of partnerships, Morgan MacNaughton, who herself has a background with the company. She was hired away last year from Palette, a social media talent management company that specializes in TikTok personalities. While there, MacNaughton helped found the political group \u201cTikTok for Biden\u201d (since renamed \u201cGen-Z for Change\u201d). Many of the TikTok users who visited the White House are themselves represented by Palette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2022, Palette received a $200,000 payment from the Democratic National Committee for paid media, Federal Election Commission data shows. According to the Washington Post\u2019s Taylor Lorenz, Palette was paid<\/a> a retainer from the DNC to cover expenses for eight\u00a0TikTok creators to travel to Washington in hopes of wooing them in the run-up to the midterm elections, resulting in an Oval Office meeting with Biden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anita Dunn<\/a>, senior adviser <\/a>to the president, told The Intercept that MacNaughton \u201chelped to get POTUS\u2019s message out to more audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe reason Morgan\u2019s position exists is because we knew the work she was capable of: discovering, ideating and leading creator talent,\u201d Christian Tom, director of the White House\u2019s Office of Digital Strategy, told The Intercept. \u201cIn just under a year at the White House, she has driven on many digital creator projects that have been vital to our digital strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- Michael Junchaya, (who goes by \u201cMikey Angelo\u201d on the handle @mrgrandeofficial<\/a>, 3.5 million followers), a young entertainer who specializes in rap recap videos.<\/li>\n\n\n\n