Previously in favor of banning TikTok, now Trump wants to “save” it

Former President Donald Trump says he wants to “save TikTok.” Just four years ago, he wanted to ban it. On his Truth Social network, Trump presents himself as TikTok’s knight in shining armor, ready to save the app from Democrats who would like to shut it down.

This stance is a far cry from his stance four years ago, when he signed an executive order to ban TikTok in the US, citing national security concerns. So what happened?

During his presidency, Trump has been a staunch advocate of banning TikTok. Citing national security threats from Chinese-owned apps, he signed an executive order in August 2020 requiring the sale or shutdown of the social network (owned by ByteDance) and WeChat (owned by Tencent) within 45 days of signing it.

The then-president would not even allow the sale of TikTok to a US company, preferring to ban the app altogether. Days before the executive order, ByteDance was in talks with Microsoft to sell TikTok. Speaking to the press, Trump made his position clear: “We are not a mergers and acquisitions country.”

In the months that followed, the question of selling TikTok bounced around between different potential buyers and court orders. Oracle was in talks for an acquisition. While a full sale never happened, TikTok would later store all of its U.S. user traffic on the Oracle Cloud.

Due to a series of legal battles, Trump delayed the TikTok ban several times until he left office, leaving it up to his successor, Joe Biden, to overturn the ban.

TRUMP, THE TIKTOK SUPPORTER

Under Biden, the US Congress passed the Protecting Americans from Applications Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act. The law had many of the same principles as Trump’s executive order: ByteDance would have to sell TikTok by 2025, or the app would be banned in the country.

Meanwhile, the former president had his sights set on a new group of voters: Gen Z men, many of whom are avid users of the app.

As the bill progressed, Trump changed his tune completely. Appearing on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in March, he argued that a TikTok ban would give Facebook too much power.

In a September video on Truth Social, he told voters: “For everyone who wants to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump. The other side is shutting down TikTok, but now I’m a big star on TikTok.”

The now-presidential candidate has yet to publicly address this shift in position. Looking at his current political stances, it’s as if the months of anti-TikTok campaigning have evaporated.

Getting other Republicans to fall in line, however, has proven challenging: House Republicans passed the App Protection Act, while the conservative Club for Growth has been pushing Republican representatives to adopt a pro-TikTok stance.

WHAT IS THE TIKTOK STATUS?

Under legislation passed in the House, ByteDance must sell TikTok by January 19, 2025, for the app to continue its operations in the U.S. Some players A number of prominent figures have considered a takeover, including billionaire Frank McCourt and former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

Survey finds that only 32% of US adults support banning TikTok.

But ByteDance isn’t ready to throw in the towel: the company has challenged the law in the US Court of Appeals in Washington DC. A hearing is scheduled for next week.

As for public opinion, the TikTok ban remains unpopular. According to the Pew Research Center, only 32% of U.S. adults support the ban — a sharp drop from 50% support in March 2023.

After four years of delays and challenges, many feel disillusioned about the possibility of a ban: 50% believe a ban is unlikely, compared with just 31% who believe it is likely.