Trump says TikTok’s fate should be in his hands when he returns to the White House

President-elect Trump says he should be the one to make the decision on whether TikTok can continue to operate in the United States because of the unique national security and First Amendment issues this case raises, he said in an amicus brief Friday.

Trump’s argument comes in an amicus brief “endorsing neither party,” filed Friday, weeks before the Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments on Jan. 10, 2025, on the law requiring a divestment of TikTok from foreign adversary control.

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TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a company based in Beijing and linked to the Chinese Communist Party.

“Today, President Donald J. Trump filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the court to extend the deadline that would cause TikTok’s impending shutdown and allow President Trump to resolve the issue in a way that saves TikTok and preserves American national security when he resumes office as President of the United States on January 20, 2025,” Trump spokesman and incoming White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital.

“President Donald J. Trump (“President Trump”) is the 45th and soon to be 47th President of the United States, the announcement said. “On January 20, 2025, President Trump will assume responsibility for America’s national security, foreign policy and other vital executive functions.”

Trump claims that “this case presents an unprecedented, new and difficult tension between free speech on the one hand and foreign policy and national security concerns on the other.” “As the incoming CEO, President Trump has a particularly strong interest in and responsibility for these national security and foreign policy issues, and he is the right constitutional actor to resolve the dispute by political means.

President Trump also has a unique interest in the First Amendment issues raised in this case,” the brief said. “Through his historic victory on November 5, 2024, President Trump received a powerful electoral mandate from American voters to protect the rights of free speech rights of all Americans — including the 170 million Americans who use TikTok.”

“President Trump is uniquely positioned to vindicate these interests because ‘the President and Vice President of the United States are the only elected officials who represent all the voters of the nation,'” the brief continues.

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Trump claims that because of his “overall responsibility for US national security and foreign policy – President Trump opposes banning TikTok in the US at this time and seeks the ability to address the current issues through political means once he takes office.”

“On September 4, 2024, President Trump wrote on Truth Social: ‘FOR ALL THOSE WHO WANT TO SAVE TIK TOK IN AMERICA, VOTE TRUMP!'” the letter states.

Trump claims that he “alone possesses the consummate expertise in deal-making, the electoral mandate and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns raised by the administration — concerns that President Trump himself has recognized.”

“President Trump’s first term in office was highlighted by a series of political triumphs achieved through historic agreements, and he has a strong prospect for success in this latest national security and foreign policy endeavor,” the letter said.

Trump notes that the 270-day deadline imposed by the new TikTok law “will expire on January 19, 2025 — one day before President Trump will take office as the 47th President of the United States.”

This legislation, which was signed into law this spring, requires a sale of TikTok from ByteDance by January 19. If ByteDance is not divested by the deadline, Google and Apple will no longer be able to show TikTok in their US app stores

“This unfortunate timing disrupts President Trump’s ability to manage America’s foreign policy and pursue a resolution that both protects national security and saves a social media platform that provides 170 million Americans with a popular vehicle to exercise their basic First Amendment rights.”, it’s called in a nutshell. “Furthermore, the statute imposes the time limit without specifying any compelling government interest in that time limit.”

Trump points to the law, which “considers a 90-day extension of the deadline under certain specified circumstances.”

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Supreme Court justices said they will hold a special session on Jan. 10 to hear oral arguments in the case — an accelerated timeline that will allow them to consider the case just nine days before the Jan. 19 ban is scheduled to take effect force. The law allows the president to extend the deadline by up to 90 days if ByteDance is in the process of selling.

“President Trump therefore has a compelling interest as the next incarnation of the executive branch to see the statutory deadline postponed to allow his incoming administration to seek a negotiated resolution to these issues,” the statement said. “If successful, such a decision would obviate the need for this Court to decide the historically challenging First Amendment issue presented here on the current, highly expedited basis.”

TikTok and ByteDance filed an emergency petition in the Supreme Court earlier this month, asking judges to temporarily block the law from being enforced while it appeals a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Lawyers for TikTok have argued that the law passed earlier this year is a violation of the First Amendment, noting in their Supreme Court petition that “Congress’s unprecedented attempt to single out applicants and prevent them from operating one of the most significant speech platforms in this nation” and “present serious constitutional problems that this court is unlikely to allow to stand.”

Last year, TikTok created its “Project Texas” initiative, which is dedicated to addressing US national security concerns.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew says “Project Texas” is creating a standalone version of the TikTok platform for the US isolated on servers in Oracle’s US cloud environment. It was developed by CFIUS and cost the company approximately $1.5 billion to implement.

Chew has argued that TikTok is not dependent on any country, although executives have previously admitted that Chinese officials had access to Americans’ data even when US-based TikTok officials did not. TikTok claims the new initiative keeps American user data safe, telling Fox News Digital that data is managed “by Americans, in America.”

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Trump has signaled support for TikTok. Earlier this month, he met with Chew at Mar-a-Lago and told reporters during a press conference ahead of the meeting that his incoming administration will “take a look at TikTok” and the looming US ban.

“I have a warm place in my heart for TikTok,” Trump told reporters.