President Donald Trump vowed to extend the deadline for the “TikTok ban” until a deal is struck to sell the Chinese-owned social media app to a U.S. owner, saying in an interview on Sunday that he has a “warm spot” in his heart for it.
“I’d like to see it done, I have a little sweet spot in my heart because I won young people by 36 points… and I focused on TikTok,” Trump told NBC “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker.
President Biden signed the so-called “TikTok” ban into law in April 2024.
The law stipulated that unless CCP-linked parent company ByteDance divests from the app and sells its stake to a US owner or company TikTok would be outlawed in the United States as of January 19, 2025.
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Trump extended the ban by 75 days via executive order on his first day in office, and recently extended the ban another 75 days in April.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t say this, but I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump said Sunday.
The Chinese-owned app briefly went dark for 24 hours in January when the law was set to take effect. Apple and Google removed TikTok from their app stores.
“We regret that a U.S. law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19 and force us to make our services temporarily unavailable, we’re working to restore our service in the U.S. as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please stay tuned,” the app, which boasts 170 million US users, displayed in a popup message.
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TikTok resumed service a day later when Trump put out a statement on TruthSocial vowing to extend the deadline for the ban, and ensuring that companies that did business with the app would be shielded from liability. TikTok thanked then-President-elect Trump in a statement upon resuming service. Apple and Google later restored the social networking app to their app stores.
Trump vowed to Welker that the app would be “protected” and said he wants to see a deal for the social media app finalize. Critics of TikTok say that it leaves American users vulnerable to foreign surveillance and causes mental health disorders in children and teens. Trump has downplayed the risk of the app in recent months.
“Is it so important for China to be spying on young people watching crazy videos?” Trump asked Fox News’ Sean Hannity when asked about the app in January.
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