As a nationwide ban on TikTok looms large, Donald Trump appears to have gone soft on the Chinese-owned company.
Posting on his Truth Social platform, the presumptive Republican nominee pointed out that banning TikTok would only benefit Meta and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, who he described as the "enemy of the people."
"If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business," he wrote. "I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!"
In an interview with CNBC, Trump argued that young people love TikTok. “There are a lot of people on TikTok that love it," he said. "There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it."
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Trump sees the question as a "tough decision" and would prefer to leave the decision to Congress:
A person close to Trump said he would let lawmakers make up their own mind on deciding TikTok’s fate, rather than pressuring members. Still, Trump holds enormous influence over Republicans and he succeeded in at least muddying the waters over the TikTok crackdown, which appears to have broad bipartisan support in the House. Its fate is more uncertain in the Senate.
Over the weekend, it was reported that Trump met with Republican megadonor Jeff Yass in February. Yass' company, Susquehanna International Group, has a 15 percent stake in ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, although Trump has denied discussing the issue with him.
Trump's shifting position comes as legislation enforcing an outright ban on TikTok unless ByteDance agrees to divest from its Chinese ownership looks likely to pass through Congress. Despite having a profile on TikTok, Joe Biden has indicated that he would sign the legislation if or when it arrives on his desk.
Although lawmakers behind the proposed legislation insist that it does not constitute a ban, ByteDance has already made it clear that it will not divest under any circumstances. TikTok has also made it clear that the bill represents an "outright ban of TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it."
Our statement on the latest TikTok legislation: This bill is an outright ban of TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it. This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they…
— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) March 5, 2024
Yet, it is not just Trump getting cold feet. It has also emerged that Trump's former campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, was advocating for TikTok in Congress. According to Politico, Conway is "being paid by the conservative Club for Growth to advocate for TikTok in Congress and has had at least 10 meetings with lawmakers in recent months about the app."
Vivek Ramaswamy, who is a serious contender for Trump's running mate, has also echoed Trump's stance on the issue, arguing that "bashing TikTok is easy" but "understanding the actual issue is harder."
Bashing TikTok is easy. Understanding the actual issue is harder. President Trump just came out opposing the pending legislation. Here’s why that’s right: we need to end *all* forced data transfers to the CCP, regardless of ownership. pic.twitter.com/sp8PrrERZ2
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) March 9, 2024
Pulling back from a clamp down on TikTok would be a major mistake. As is well documented, TikTok is an arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and poses a genuine threat to national security through its ability to spy and collect data on the unsuspecting.
Yet even more importantly, its unique algorithm gives the CCP the opportunity to manipulate the worldview of young people not only in America but across the world. Allowing China to maintain this level of influence over Americans is an unacceptable state of affairs.
Trump's point about Zuckerberg is broadly correct. Facebook is indeed part of the left-wing Silicon Valley cartel that helped tip the 2020 presidential election in Joe Biden's favor and will do its absolute best to repeat that success in 2024. However, it still remains an American company providing jobs and revenue to the U.S. economy. It is also bound by U.S. law, something which cannot be said about TikTok's Chinese ownership.
The former president has long styled himself as the candidate toughest on China, particularly compared to Joe Biden and the Democratic elite, who are far more sympathetic to such left-wing authoritarianism. Failing to support a ban on one of the CCP's key technological weapons would be a betrayal of the most basic conservative principles.
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