During a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, President-elect Trump expressed his affection for TikTok, noting that he has a “warm spot” in his heart for the app as it approaches a possible ban next month.
When questioned about his plans to prevent the ban from being implemented upon taking office, Trump indicated he would “take a look,” acknowledging that he credits part of his electoral success to TikTok’s influence. “I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” he stated, claiming he “won youth by 34 points, and there are those that say that TikTok had something to do with it.”
The president-elect acknowledges TikTok’s role in his electoral win
Additionally, he highlighted his engaging interviews with popular podcast hosts like Joe Rogan as contributing factors to his success, mentioning that some of those campaign trail sit-downs were suggested by his son, Barron Trump, who recently started his freshman year at New York University.
As soon as January 19, the app may face restrictions on U.S. networks and app stores following Congress’s April legislation that requires TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest within 270 days or risk a ban.
Earlier this month, a federal appeals court upheld this law, ruling that it does not infringe on the First Amendment rights as TikTok had claimed. TikTok requested a hold on the law while it seeks to appeal to the Supreme Court, but the court denied that request on Friday.
A spokesperson for TikTok stated, “As we have previously stated, we plan on taking this case to the Supreme Court, which has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech.”
The spokesperson further emphasized that “the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the U.S. and around the world will be silenced on January 19, 2025, unless the TikTok ban is halted.”
What actions Trump may take concerning TikTok remains uncertain. During his campaign, he opposed the divest-or-ban law and promised to “save” the app, yet he has provided limited information about his post-election plans for TikTok.
Earlier this month, he remarked on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” “I can’t totally hate it. It was very effective,” while adding, “But I will say this, if you do do that, something else is going to come along and take its place, and maybe that’s not fair.”
He also mentioned, “I’m going to try and make it so that other companies don’t become an even bigger monopoly,” indicating his intent to address competition in the industry.
