Many tech leaders and tech firms have paid court docket to President-elect Donald J. Trump in latest weeks. From Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg to Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos, they’ve visited Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, flattered him on X and donated to his inaugural fund.
However TikTok has taken these strategies to the following degree.
Because the Chinese language-owned social app fights a federal regulation that bans it in america except it’s bought, it publicly referenced after which thanked Mr. Trump for his help in statements and in movies since Friday. It even constructed its flattery proper into the app so its 170 million American customers may see it:
“Because of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is again within the U.S.!,” a pop-up message on Sunday learn.
TikTok’s chief government, Shou Chew, filmed his personal thanks video to Mr. Trump final week, even referring to the president’s private TikTok account. Mr. Chew has additionally visited Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and has been invited to take a seat ready of honor on the dais at Mr. Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
TikTok “will go to any lengths to please the authorities” whereas dealing with this ban, mentioned Anupam Chander, a professor of regulation and expertise at Georgetown College and an professional on the worldwide regulation of recent applied sciences.
“TikTok is searching for the president’s favor in these methods as a result of their very existence on this nation depends upon him,” Mr. Chander mentioned in an interview on Sunday. “He’s their lifeline and so they’re ensuring that they keep on his good aspect.”
TikTok didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Mr. Trump might not be capable to save the app within the long-term as he has declared. He vowed early Sunday to challenge an government order to provide ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese language proprietor, extra time to make a sale that will fulfill the regulation, but it surely’s not clear if he can prolong the timeline now that the regulation has taken impact — or if he has a sale in thoughts that will meet the phrases of the regulation. Mr. Trump seems to be dedicated. Even earlier than his submit promising an government order, he posted to the social media platform Fact Social in all-caps: “SAVE TIKTOK!”
The Biden administration additionally sought to make it clear this weekend that TikTok didn’t must shut down on Sunday to fulfill the regulation, calling the choice to go darkish “a stunt.”
“We now have laid out our place clearly and straightforwardly: actions to implement this regulation will fall to the following administration,” Karine Jean-Pierre, the White Home press secretary, mentioned in an announcement.
Mr. Trump’s help for TikTok is comparatively new. Throughout his first time period, he tried to ban the app within the nation except ByteDance bought it to an American firm.
However in March 2024, he flipped his stance, across the time of a gathering with Jeff Yass, a billionaire investor and Republican megadonor who owns a major share of ByteDance. Mr. Trump has mentioned they didn’t talk about the corporate. Mr. Yass helped discovered the buying and selling agency Susquehanna Worldwide Group.
TikTok has additionally sought a line into Republicans and the Trump marketing campaign via Tony Sayegh, a former Treasury official in Mr. Trump’s administration. Mr. Sayegh, who leads public affairs for Susquehanna, was a core a part of the Trump marketing campaign’s choice to affix TikTok this summer season.
Mr. Trump was an on the spot hit on TikTok, the place he now has over 14 million followers. A number of members of his household, together with Donald Trump Jr. and his granddaughter Kai Trump, have additionally joined the app.