Take a Wild Guess Why Trump Had Sudden Change of Heart on TikTok Ban
Donald Trump wants to save TikTok, after trying to get it banned during his first administration. Before leaving office in 2020, Trump attempted to ban TikTok through an executive order claiming the app was a threat to “the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.” Now he is expected to halt a ban put in motion by President Joe Biden. So what changed?Kellyanne Conway explained the president-elect’s newfound support for the insidiously addictive video-sharing app. “He appreciates the breadth and reach of TikTok, which he used masterfully along with podcasts and new media entrants to win,” Conway told The Washington Post.“There are many ways to hold China to account outside alienating 180 million U.S. users each month. Trump recognized early on that Democrats are the party of bans—gas-powered cars, menthol cigarettes, vapes, plastic straws, and TikTok—and to let them own that draconian, anti-personal choice space,” she said. Conway managed to describe the president promising to bring back his “travel ban” targeting people from predominantly Muslim countries, including refugees from Gaza, as being in opposition to the so-called “party of bans.”As Conway said, Trump was able to use TikTok to appeal to younger voters, which helped propel him to victory. Trump’s social media team garnered 3.2 billion TikTok views since the president-elect started using the app in June, according to the Post. In one of his first videos on the app he declared, “I’m gonna save TikTok.”But Trump’s affair with TikTok started before he ever used the app. After Trump stated his intent to ban the app, TikTok altered its algorithm and content moderation so that pro-Trump content would do better, according to The Information.Trump would go on to court Jeff Yass, a major Republican donor and one of the largest investors in TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Yass also reportedly donated to Accuracy in Media, which funded the doxxing of pro-Palestinian college students. The deadline by which ByteDance must divest from its U.S.-based TikTok operations is January 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration. The company has given no indication that it intends to comply, and challenged the ban as being unconstitutional.
Donald Trump wants to save TikTok, after trying to get it banned during his first administration.
Before leaving office in 2020, Trump attempted to ban TikTok through an executive order claiming the app was a threat to “the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.” Now he is expected to halt a ban put in motion by President Joe Biden.
So what changed?
Kellyanne Conway explained the president-elect’s newfound support for the insidiously addictive video-sharing app.
“He appreciates the breadth and reach of TikTok, which he used masterfully along with podcasts and new media entrants to win,” Conway told The Washington Post.
“There are many ways to hold China to account outside alienating 180 million U.S. users each month. Trump recognized early on that Democrats are the party of bans—gas-powered cars, menthol cigarettes, vapes, plastic straws, and TikTok—and to let them own that draconian, anti-personal choice space,” she said.
Conway managed to describe the president promising to bring back his “travel ban” targeting people from predominantly Muslim countries, including refugees from Gaza, as being in opposition to the so-called “party of bans.”
As Conway said, Trump was able to use TikTok to appeal to younger voters, which helped propel him to victory. Trump’s social media team garnered 3.2 billion TikTok views since the president-elect started using the app in June, according to the Post. In one of his first videos on the app he declared, “I’m gonna save TikTok.”
But Trump’s affair with TikTok started before he ever used the app.
After Trump stated his intent to ban the app, TikTok altered its algorithm and content moderation so that pro-Trump content would do better, according to The Information.
Trump would go on to court Jeff Yass, a major Republican donor and one of the largest investors in TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Yass also reportedly donated to Accuracy in Media, which funded the doxxing of pro-Palestinian college students.
The deadline by which ByteDance must divest from its U.S.-based TikTok operations is January 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration. The company has given no indication that it intends to comply, and challenged the ban as being unconstitutional.
