Trump and TikTok: ‘A huge PR victory’ for the new MAGA president
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Donald Trump has been publicly thanked by TikTok for restoring the app for millions of users across the US, after years of the MAGA republican calling the app a threat to the country. What’s going on?
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Read time: 4 mins
In brief…
- Donald Trump has given TikTok a 90-day reprieve after it went offline in America, following a missed deadline to be sold to US owners, over fears of Chinese spy threats.
- The News Agents say the Democrats will be furious that Trump can claim this as a victory, but say it was a situation left for him to do with as he wished.
- It also reveals how Trump may work with the tech-bro “oligarchy” Biden warned about in his outgoing address.
What’s the story?
TikTok has publicly thanked Donald Trump for restoring its services to people in the US.
Which is wild, because Trump has spoken repeatedly in recent years about how he wants the app banned in the US.
"Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the US," the message sent in the app to its US users.
Trump previously said TikTok would have to "close shop" in the US if it wasn't sold by 15 September 2024, and that what the app was doing was “very bad” – although did not specify what that bad thing actually was.
In one of the final acts of the Joe Biden presidency, the Supreme Court and Congress slapped a ban on the Chinese-owned app, in the belief that it poses a security risk for the US. Ahead of his inauguration – and after the app went dark for millions across America – Trump was able to grant the firm a 90-day period to sell, in full or partially, to a US owner, restoring it to users and claiming victory for doomscrollers everywhere.
He was condemned by US Democrat Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who accused TikTok’s message to its users across America as “signalling” its private collaborations with Donald Trump, as any agreements with him were made as a private citizen, before officially becoming president.
“For all of those concerns that people were saying that TikTok is going to be used as a propaganda tool by the Chinese, understand they are using it as a propaganda tool for the right,” she said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre described TikTok’s messaging about working with Trump as a “stunt”.
TikTok’s CEO, Shou Chew, is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday 20 January, alongside other tech leaders such as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos.
TikTok sponsored an inauguration party in Washington held on Sunday 19 January, which was attended by right-wing influencers in the capital to celebrate Trump’s inauguration.
The relationship between TikTok, Trump and the US
TikTok, and its parent company ByteDance, had been given a 19 January deadline to sell its stake in the company to US owners. This was due to concerns it could be used to either spy on US citizens, or be used to exert influence that may be beneficial for China.
"I'm asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!" Trump wrote on TruthSocial, his own social media network.
"I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law's prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security."
Trump's willingness to work with a Chinese owned company comes in stark contrast to his previous stance on China, and plans to introduce huge tariffs to all imports from the country into the US.
"There were questions about whether Musk would buy it – but the Chinese said they wouldn't sell it to Musk," says Emilky Maitlis.
"But is Trump going to do something whereby American money – or his money, or government money – is invested in something that has been solely Chinese owned?"
Emily says Trump's claims about TikTok are just one of the elements of his inauguration so far to be proving a headache for the Democratic Party.
"Democrats don't want to see Trump take over TikTok and pretend it's all his idea to bring it back," Emily adds.
"But the Democrats were part of the process that got rid of it, and they hadn't really resolved that either. Biden left it up to Trump to do what he wanted."
Trump may have changed his mind on TikTok, and its uses, during the 2024 election campaign, crediting a 21-year-old named only as "Jack" for being responsible for Republican success on TikTok spreading Trump's message.
“I went on Tiktok, can you believe what I'll do to win an election?” Trump said in Washington ahead of his inauguration. “So I like Tiktok. I like it. I like it. I had a slightly good experience.”
Lewis Goodall describes the situation as an "enormous PR victory" for Donald Trump with young Americans, many of whom will have received the message thanking him for restoring TikTok to their phones.
What's The News Agents' take?
There are big questions about what Trump’s sudden support means for US relations with China, and the future of TikTok, but it also highlights how the incoming president plans to work with the big-tech companies during his second term.
Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos were already on board with the MAGA administration, and with Chew on board, it’s a full-house for the Republicans.
“It's a really good little parable of the Trump era we're heading into, and this fusion that we've seen between big-tech, tech-bros and MAGA,” says Lewis Goodall.
In his farewell address, Biden warned America of the rise of a new "oligarchy" among America's super-rich, saying the influence of certain wealthy individuals was a threat to US democracy.
But the change in stance on TikTok also suggests that Trump could potentially ignore other decisions made by the Supreme Court or Congress if he feels it doesn’t suit his ambitions.
"The Supreme Court and Congress have been clear – they think it is a security threat," Lewis adds.
"So on the day before the Trump presidency begins, there is already a separation of powers, and the role of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidency, once again, being brought into question."
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