Top Dem: Trump Wants to Save TikTok for ‘Inflating His Ego’

Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Jake Auchincloss suggested that the real reason for President-elect Donald Trump’s about-turn on TikTok policy is because of his ego.

Auchincloss—who is a member of the subcommittee focused on competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party—spoke about Trump’s desire to delay banning TikTok, despite previously being in support of the bill.

Trump’s new approach to the Chinese app simply “doesn’t pass the common sense test,” Auchincloss told Jim Sciutto on Friday’s Anderson Cooper 360.

Earlier that same day, Trump’s lawyers urged the Supreme Court to hold off on implementing a TikTok ban until he is in office and able to save the app “while addressing the national security concerns” with the platform.

According to Auchincloss, that thought process doesn’t hold.

“I think it would be important for Congress to issue a resolution stating that we stand by the original law, and that if he tried to issue an executive order that undermined the effectuation of the law, that Congress would override that,” said Auchincloss on CNN. “Now, whether or not my Republican colleagues have the spines to stand up to Donald Trump remains to be seen. I would say their track record over the last decade does not inspire confidence in that regard.”

Auchincloss claimed that he trusted his Democrat colleagues to “understand that allowing Gen Z to develop their sense of American society from an algorithm dictated by a politburo in Beijing is a really bad idea,” adding, “And Donald Trump himself understood that.”

He then theorized, “The fact that he‘s changing his mind now makes me think that his inner circle has been bought and paid for by the TikTok lobby.”

Host Sciutto added more context to his theory, outlining Trump’s links to the big wigs behind the app.

“We should note that President-Elect Trump met with the TikTok CEO this month, and we just learned, according to two people familiar with the matter, that the TikTok CEO spoke with Trump this evening after he filed this request with the Supreme Court,” said Sciutto.

He added, “And earlier this year, before Trump reversed his position on TikTok, he met with Republican mega-donor Jeff Yass, who has a multi-billion dollar stake in TikTok. Although Trump said the subject of TikTok did not come up, I wonder, do those meetings do the timing of those meetings and the nature of those meetings raise any concern for you?”

Auchincloss replied: “Absolutely. And we know that members of his inner circle have strong ties to TikTok in particular, and China more generally.”

Auchincloss wagered that Trump—like the Gen Z TikTok users the bill revolves around—has been similarly influenced by his popularity on the platform. He has 14.7 million followers.

“With Donald Trump, it‘s always some combination of two things, Jim. It‘s [number] one, flattery and inflating his ego. ‘Hey, you’re so popular on TikTok and you‘re a dominant social media presence, and the young people love you,’” said Auchincloss. “And then number two is the soft corruption and sycophancy of his inner circle. Those two threads can intertwine and they can change American policy.”

Auchincloss concluded, “And it‘s up to Congress and in particular, Republicans in Congress, to put the well-being of the country ahead of Donald Trump‘s ego on this issue.”