President-elect Donald J. Trump spoke favorably about TikTok during a wide-ranging press conference Monday, prompting a warning of sorts from Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy that any reversal of a TikTok ban might not “sit well” with some elected Republican officials.
Doocy appeared on Fox & Friends, which highlighted Trump’s remarks while noting concerns from Republicans like Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) — who Trump has tapped as his nominee for Secretary of State — about TikTok mining data from American users.
“We will take a look at TikTok,” Trump said from Mar-a-Lago. “I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok. Because I won youth by 34 points, there are those that say that TikTok had something to do with that. TikTok had an impact. And so we’re taking a look at it. We won youth. Republicans are always 30 points down in youth.”
President-elect Trump on TikTok ban: “We’ll take a look at TikTok. I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points.” pic.twitter.com/NNN0edUAqe
— CSPAN (@cspan) December 16, 2024
Republicans have long stated that the Chinese-owned app should be banned in the United States, but co-host Ainsley Earhardt noted that China has other options when it comes to spying on Americans through devices, referencing a guest who was on the program several days ago.
“He said they can see everything, anything we buy on Amazon that’s from China,” she said. “They can put devices in it, chips in it, they can put anything in it to spy on us. And he said they know everything that we’re doing, including the drones we buy on Amazon.”
‘Yes! Yes to all of that,” Doocy replied. “And all of that to say it would not sit well with a lot of elected Republicans if Trump reverses on TikTok, forcing TikTok to be sold.”
“But what are they going to say about it publicly?” he continued. “Because everything else they’ve said over the last couple of months, since the election, is that he was just elected with a mandate and we need to at least give him a chance to do things the way that he wants to do.”
Doocy also noted that Trump’s close relationship with Elon Musk, who owns X, could be a factor here.
“Another very interesting dynamic to consider here. TikTok is a main competitor to X, owned by Trump’s new pal, Elon Musk,” he said. “Trump really seems to value Musk’s opinion on things. We don’t know what kind of influence Musk has here.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
- Mel Gibson speculates on whether there’s a ‘purpose’ behind devastating LA fires - January 11, 2025
- Biden says any remaining pardons could be based on who Trump is critical of - January 11, 2025
- Intel analyst says Iranian missiles smuggled across southern border, Trump travels altered - January 4, 2025
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.