A populist push toward “Americanizing TikTok” saw presidential moves and the seeds of a “Shark Tank” investment.
“I want to make TikTok wonderful again.”
(Video Credit: Fox Business)
Tucked inside the almost $100 billion foreign aid package that delivered another whopping taxpayer-funded contribution to Ukraine at nearly $61 billion, Congress included a sale-or-ban provision giving China-based ByteDance nine months to offload TikTok or see the app digitally shuttered in the United States.
Amid a legal fight many anticipated would reach the Supreme Court, entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary appeared on Fox Business Network’s “The Big Money Show” to advance his crowdfunded bid to acquire the controversial social media platform.
“I find this an extraordinary deal. It’s a legacy deal. It’s definitely one I want to do. And I think — the opportunity is huge,” laid out “Mr. Wonderful” to co-hosts Brian Brenberg, Jackie DeAngelis and Taylor Riggs.
O’Leary knocked a deal that had been offered by President Joe Biden’s administration in 2022 as a “Chinese-style solution” that would have seen partial control of the app handed to the U.S. government, granting oversight over the U.S. operation’s board of directors, the ability to monitor source code and a kill switch to turn off TikTok in the U.S.
The heavy involvement from the two governments was noted as “a thousand miles away from capitalism” by Brenberg prompting the entrepreneur to express, “I love capitalism and I want to support Americanizing TikTok. I want to make TikTok wonderful again. That’s exactly what’s going to happen if I do this deal.”
He wasn’t alone in his enterprise as former President Donald Trump recently joined the platform, amassing over 5 million followers in a matter of days while only having one video published at the time of this post. Featuring UFC President Dana White announcing, “The president is now on TikTok,” Trump raked in nearly 85 million views by Wednesday morning as he said during his attendance at UFC 302, “It’s my honor.”
@realdonaldtrump Launching my TikTok at @UFC ♬ original sound – President Donald J Trump
As Biden’s campaign had roughly 360,000 followers on TikTok by comparison, a new demonization of the platform was sparked over the volume of pro-Trump content being published.
“Forget about Truth Social,” said Puck News senior political correspondent Tara Palmeri. “TikTok could become the real hub of MAGA content,” with, “two times more pro-Trump content than pro-Biden content.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Wonderful promoted his effort to purchase the app on X, and said, “The clock is ticking on TikTok…Congress has passed a law that gives it less than 270 days to sell to interests that are governed by US laws or be shut down. I’d like to democratize TikTok and turn it into a platform where the user data is protected from the prying eyes of foreign adversaries. It’s time to make TikTok WONDERFUL…again.”
Speaking with Fox Business, he remarked on the legal battles, “That’s why those of us interested in buying it are starting the process now.”
“I’ve set up wondertiktok.com if you’re interested in participating ’cause I want to do crowdfunding for all the millions of Americans that want to be part of this. But that won’t be the majority of the money. It’s gonna come from sovereign wealth,” he explained.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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