Team Trump Admits It Doesn’t Mind China Running TikTok After All
One of Donald Trump’s close allies let slip that the social media giant TikTok could operate in the U.S. while remaining in the hands of its current Chinese ownership.
Mike Waltz, who is set to become Trump’s national security adviser after his inauguration on Monday, told CNN that the president-elect’s team were exploring ways to get the app back online after its blackout on Sunday.
“We’re working literally real time, working with various tech companies, to get it back online and buy some time to one, save it, but protect Americans data and protect Americans from any type of foreign interference,” he told CNN State of the Union host Dana Bash.
The app switched off for some 170 million Americans after the Supreme Court upheld a ruling that banned TikTok due to its alleged links to the Chinese government.
The China-based technology firm ByteDance, which owns TikTok, was given until January 19 to sell the US version of the platform, but Trump has vowed to offer the company a 90-day extension to settle the controversial issue.
Mike Waltz talking TikTok on @CNNSOTU: "We're working, literally real time, working with the various tech companies to get it back online and buy [Trump] some time to, one, save it, but protect Americans' data and protect Americans from any type of foreign interference." pic.twitter.com/bAPU4QEADd
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 19, 2025
Waltz surprised viewers when he suggested the app would not have to be sold after all all.
“It is a fantastic app. It’s something that 170 million Americans enjoy, and we’re confident that we can save Tiktok, but also protect Americans data and protect them from influence, whether that’s an outright sale, whether that’s some mechanism of firewalls to make sure that the data is protected here on US soil,” he said.
Bash appeared to be in shock over Waltz’s revelation that the Trump administration could allow the app to be owned by ByteDance as she questioned him on whether the president-elect was “totally capitulating to China.”
“It’s not capitulating at all,” he said. “Again, we can do both. Both can be true at the same time. TikTok can continue to exist, and whether that’s an American hands owned by an American company, or whether the data and the algorithms are fully protected from Chinese interference, there’s a number of formulas this could take.”
“Let’s give the president some time to make that decision,” he added.
Some of that time will doubtless be spent with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who recently praised Trump in a video message and will be in attendance at Inauguration Day in Washington DC.
Trump on Sunday confirmed himself that he was working to get the app back online for his inauguration on Monday.
“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial.
“Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.”
Trump made the case that a U.S. entity could purchase 50% of the platform to continue its operation.
“I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture,” he said. “By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up. Without U.S. approval, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars - maybe trillions.”