The ‘Art of the Deal’ president wants to try to save TikTok

On December 29, 2024By Littum

President-elect Donald Trump has described himself as a master negotiator.

With wildly popular social media platform TikTok set to be banned in the US a day before he returns to the White House, the incoming commander-in-chief says he wants a chance to save it.

“President Trump alone possesses the consummate deal-making expertise, the electoral mandate and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns the administration has expressed — concerns that President Trump himself has acknowledged,” he says. according to a brief filed by Trump Friday night ahead of an upcoming Supreme Court hearing next month.

Trump and his allies have long touted the president as a “deal maker” and said that will continue in his second round in the Oval Office, including negotiating a end Israel’s war in Gaza and is promising tariffs against allies Mexico and Canada in an effort to curb immigration to the United States — a key campaign goal for the president-elect.

Trump urged the Supreme Court to pause a law that could ban TikTok, arguing that the president-elect’s negotiating skills will be able to find a solution that addresses national security concerns for TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, as well as concerns that banning the app would limit free speech in the United States.

“President Trump’s first term in office was highlighted by a number of policy triumphs achieved through historic agreements, and he has a strong prospect for success in this latest national security and foreign policy endeavor,” the brief said, without elaborating on which policies.

Earlier this year, Congress passed bipartisan legislation signed by President Joe Biden that requires TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app. The app would be banned from stores and web hosting companies in the US if ByteDance doesn’t sell it.

TikTok has previously asked the Supreme Court to halt enforcement of this requirement while the company continues to argue why the law is unconstitutional. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court said it will not decide whether to keep the Jan. 19 deadline until the justices have discussed the law’s merits during oral arguments scheduled for Jan. 10.

Although Trump tried to ban the app during his first term as president, the president made it a campaign promise in the 2024 presidential election to “save TikTok”, as his presidential campaign often used the app to appeal to young voters.

Trump’s lawyers said in the briefing that Trump’s creation of his own social media site, Truth Social, and his use of TikTok, where he has 14.7 million followers, allow him to evaluate TikTok’s importance as a unique medium for free speech. including core political speech.”

“President Trump is one of the most powerful, prolific and influential users of social media in history,” the release said.

Trump’s failed spending bill

Even as Trump touts his negotiating skills, the president-elect is already facing hiccups with parts of his agenda — failing to hold his party together during a debate over government funding.

Trump blasted an initial short-term spending deal earlier this month. He failed to win Republican support for the legislation he supported, which would have kept the U.S. government open through March while raising the limit on the amount of debt the federal government can incur.

The House went on to pass a bill that received mostly Democratic support to avoid a government shutdown.

Starring: Maureen Groppe, Karissa Waddick and Zac Anderson, USA TODAY