Trump has changed from supporting the Tik Tok ban to app hunting
FOX Business’ Taylor Riggs joins ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss President-elect Trump’s ties to Big Tech, potential investment plans and the agenda for his first 100 days.
President-elect Donald Trump has made a years-long about-face against the Chinese-owned social media app Tik Tok, finally being credited with saving the app on Sunday.
Trump’s first administration It originally proposed to ban the app or force it to be sold to a non-Chinese owner, but in 2018 The plan did not come to fruition until President Biden took office in 2020. A bipartisan group of lawmakers approved the bill at the time and Biden signed it, setting aside the ban. Last date to sell is January 19th.
Up to this point, Trump and other politicians have agreed that TikTok poses a major national security threat because ByteDance is a company owned by the Chinese Communist Party.
The application went dark on Sunday as no purchase agreement was reached, only for Trump to step in and promise to push back the deadline.
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President-elect Donald Trump has called for pushing back the January 19 deadline to ban or sell TikTok. (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
As a result, TikTok’s 170 million American users were instead sent a message thanking Trump for his efforts to save the app.
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“Welcome!” Tik Tok message read. “Thank you for your patience and support. Thanks to President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US!”
Earlier on Sunday, Trump tweeted on TRUTH Social, “Companies are asking TikTok not to go dark!” He promised to extend the ban or sell-off deadline in an executive order Monday, though he did not provide details on the extension.
President Biden has allowed the TikTok Ban or Sell Act to continue under his administration. (Reuters)
“By doing this, we will save TikTok, put it in good hands and let it survive. There is no TikTok without US permission. With our permission, it could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions,” he wrote. “Therefore, my first thought is a joint venture between the existing owners and/or new owners, whereby the United States would acquire 50% ownership in the joint venture between the US and any acquisition we choose.”
Trump’s newfound support for TikTok comes after the company’s CEO, Xu Chew, visited the president-elect at his Mar-a-Lago home in December.
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TikTok later released another statement from the account on X, again thanking the incoming president.
After President-elect Trump vowed to push through an executive order delaying the ban, TikTok welcomed users back to the social media platform. (Reuters/Reuters Photos)
“We thank President Trump for providing the necessary transparency and assurance to our service providers, bringing TikTok to more than 170 million Americans and allowing more than 7 million small businesses to thrive,” the statement said. “It is a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps Tiki Talk in the United States.”
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Although extended, It has a byte dance. He repeatedly refused to sell the app. The company has not weighed in on whether or not it supports joint ownership, as Trump has said.
Fox Business’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.