President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly expected to try to block a potential US ban on TikTok ahead of a looming January deadline, according to multiple sources including longtime ally Kellyanne Conway.
TikTok is fighting in court to block a federal law that would require the app’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest its shares or face a total shutdown by January 19 – the day before the inauguration of Trump. The law allows the president to extend the sale deadline by 90 days if “significant progress” is made toward a sale.
Trump has vowed on multiple occasions to “save TikTok” if elected president — including in a Sept. 4 post on Social Truth. His support comes despite the fact that Trump led an effort to ban the app during his first term in office.
Since winning the election, Trump has not signaled whether he will try to stop a ban.
But Conway, a senior adviser during Trump’s first term — who has reportedly defended TikTok in Congress over the past year — told the Washington Post that she expects Trump to intervene on behalf of the social media firm.
According to the report, three other unnamed sources who are familiar with his view on the matter supported Conway’s assertion.
“He appreciates the breadth and reach of TikTok, which he masterfully used alongside podcasts and new media entries to win,” Conway told the Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper.
“There are many ways to keep China out of the account by alienating 180 million American users every month,” added Conway, who remains close to the president-elect. “Trump realized early on that Democrats are the party of prohibition — gas cars, menthol cigarettes, heat, plastic straws and TikTok — and to let them own that draconian, anti-personal space of choice.”
Trump transition team spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt did not immediately respond to The New York Post’s request for comment.
However, she answered questions about the Trump campaign’s promise to save the app in a statement to The Associated Press.
“The American people re-elected President Trump by a wide margin, giving him a mandate to follow through on the promises he made on the campaign trail,” Leavitt said. “He will deliver.”
TikTok declined to comment on the report.
Alan Rosenstein, a former national security adviser at the Justice Department, told the Washington Post that Trump could push Congress to repeal the law or even tell his pick for attorney general not to enforce it.
A federal appeals court is expected to rule on TikTok’s challenge by December 6, although further appeals could reach the Supreme Court. Appeals may also extend to Trump’s term in office.
As The Post reported, TikTok’s legal team faced pointed questions in September from the three-judge panel that will decide the case.
The investment law drew broad bipartisan support in Congress from lawmakers who say TikTok poses a national security threat. TikTok has denied the allegations and argued that the law violates the First Amendment.
In a March interview with CNBC, Trump acknowledged that he sees TikTok as a national security risk, but said he was concerned that a ban would benefit Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook — which he called “the enemy of the people.”
In another potential snag, Trump is said to be picking Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as secretary of state. Rubio is a well-known China hawk and sharp critic of TikTok.
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