Trump Tries Saving TikTok After Targeting China-Owned App
The president-elect wants to delay banning the platform until he can use his “consummate dealmaking expertise” to save it.
Rebecca Noble/Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump is looking to delay a ban on TikTok in the United States—at least until he can assume office and use his “consummate dealmaking expertise” to address the platform’s national security concerns.
In a Friday filing, Trump’s lawyers told the Supreme Court that there may be no need for them to weigh in on a challenge to the TikTok ban if they hold off on taking any action until he returns to the White House. The ban is expected to take effect the day before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
“President Trump alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns,” wrote D. John Sauer, who is Trump’s nominee for U.S. solicitor general, in the filing.
Sauer added, “In light of these interests—including, most importantly, his overarching responsibility for the United States’ national security and foreign policy—President Trump opposes banning TikTok in the United States at this juncture, and seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.”
Trump vowed that he would “save TikTok” on the campaign trail, but did not delve into exactly how he planned to do so. In its Supreme Court challenge, TikTok has also highlighted Trump’s sympathies for the company as an incoming president.
Playing up Trump’s influence, the brief claimed the president-elect is “one of the most powerful, prolific, and influential users of social media in history.”
“Indeed, President Trump’s first Term was highlighted by a series of policy triumphs achieved through historic deals, and he has a great prospect of success in this latest national security and foreign policy endeavor,” wrote Sauer.
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The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for TikTok’s challenge on Jan. 10, with time for the justices to make their decision before Trump officially takes office.
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