Donald Trump has changed his stance on TikTok, now criticizing a potential ban

The former president’s change of heart comes after Joe Biden expressed willingness to sign legislation that might lead to a ban on the app in the US

Donald Trump, who previously considered banning the Chinese owners of TikTok during his presidency, has now expressed support for the popular app.

“There are many people on TikTok who love the platform. There are also many young kids on TikTok who would be devastated without it,” Trump stated in an interview with CNBC on Monday. He expressed concerns that without TikTok, Facebook could grow even larger, a platform he considers “an enemy of the people.” Despite still viewing TikTok as a national security threat, he acknowledged that other apps also pose risks, particularly singling out Meta-owned platforms. He criticized Facebook, stating, “I think Facebook has been very detrimental to our country, especially concerning elections.” Last week, he claimed that banning TikTok would benefit “Facebook and Zuckerschmuck,” referring to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Following the January 6, 2021, riots, Trump was first suspended and then permanently banned from Facebook, which is owned by Meta, “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.” Subsequently, he launched his own social media platform, Truth Social.

Trump’s newfound support for TikTok, and consequently its owner ByteDance, comes shortly after Joe Biden expressed willingness to sign legislation, currently progressing through Congress, that could lead to a TikTok ban. The US House is scheduled to vote on the bill on Wednesday.

If the bill is approved, ByteDance would be required to sell TikTok, an app used by approximately 150 million Americans, or face a ban on US app stores and web hosting services. This ban would prevent users from accessing the platform within six months.

A TikTok spokesperson has stated that the bill is aimed at a “predetermined outcome: a total ban of TikTok in the United States” and has initiated a campaign urging users to contact Congress to “prevent a TikTok shutdown.”

The company stated, “This legislation will infringe upon the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they depend on to expand and create jobs.”

The American Civil Liberties Union remarked in a statement that a potential TikTok ban represented an effort by political leaders “to trade our First Amendment rights for cheap political points during an election year” and asserted that it would undoubtedly suppress free speech.

Trump, who told CNBC that TikTok has “a lot of good and a lot of bad,” recently met with Republican mega-donor Jeff Yass, who reportedly has a significant financial stake in the popular social media platform. The meeting took place at a Club for Growth donor retreat in Palm Beach, Florida, earlier this month.

Shortly after the meeting, the former president posted on Truth Social, stating, “If you eliminate TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business. I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better.”

On Monday, reports emerged that former Trump White House aide Kellyanne Conway has been lobbying for TikTok in Congress over the past few months on behalf of the pro-business organization.

Conway told Politico that alienating US TikTok users, many of whom are voters, would be “draconian” and “ill-advised.”

Conway questioned, “If you want to hold China accountable, why start with TikTok and not address issues such as the origins of the Covid crisis, the fentanyl crisis, the persecution of Uyghurs, and the vulnerability of Taiwan?”

David McIntosh, the president of the Club for Growth, argued in a Fox News column last year that banning TikTok under the DATA Act (HR 1153) would “significantly undermine the freedoms that Americans have enjoyed since the advent of the first smartphones.”

Yass’s hedge fund, Susquehanna International Group, acquired a stake in ByteDance in 2012, which the Wall Street Journal estimated last year at around 15%. Yass personally owns 7% of this stake, valued at $21 billion.

Yass stated to the outlet last year, “TikTok represents free speech and innovation, embodying libertarian and free market ideals. The notion of banning TikTok goes against everything I stand for.”

Despite Yass’s $10 million donation to the super PAC arm of Club for Growth, which currently has $22 million in cash according to an FCC filing, Trump has not yet secured its support in this election cycle.

On Monday, Meta shares dropped by 4.42%.