Former President Donald Trump explained why he changed his position on banning TikTok despite widespread support from members of Congress for a ban.
The former president outlined his thoughts on the social media company on CNBC Monday morning, days after he publicly opposed a ban.
“Honestly, there are a lot of people on TikTok who love it,” he said during an interview on CNBC. “There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who go crazy without it. There are a lot of users, there are a lot of good ones and a lot of bad ones with TikTok.”
Donald Trump said he opposed the Congressional bill that would ban TikTok from the United States
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that falls under the Chinese government.
Trump reiterated his concerns that a TikTok ban would only make social media platforms like Facebook more powerful.
“What I don’t like is that without TikTok you’re going to make Facebook bigger and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people, along with a lot of the media,” Trump said.
He said he still had national security and privacy concerns about TikTok, but he also had the same concerns about U.S. companies.
“I really believe that, and we need to pay a very close attention to privacy and make sure that we protect the privacy and data rights of the American people,” he said.
Trump argued that Facebook and other US social media platforms also shared data with China.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook Inc., speaks during an event at the company’s headquarters
Members of Congress continue to push for a TikTok ban, warning that the platform is bad for national security
“They are not that American, they trade in China and if China wants something from them, they will give it, so that is also a national security issue,” he said.
Trump said he was concerned about Facebook, especially after CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife donated at least $400 million during the 2020 election to nonprofits that helped fund upgrades to election systems to enable mail-in voting and change voting protocols.
“I think Facebook has been very bad for our country, especially when it comes to elections,” he said.
Trump disputed claims that he changed his position on TikTok after meeting with billionaire investor Jeff Yass, who has a very large financial stake in the platform.
He said he had only met Yass very briefly and had not discussed TikTok.
“He never mentioned TikTok,” he said, adding that he mainly spoke to Yass’ wife about the issue of school choice, which he supported.
Last Thursday, Trump surprised conservatives after opposing a TikTok ban.
“If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their revenue. I don’t want Facebook, which cheated in the last election, to do better,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday. ‘They are a real enemy of the people!’
Momentum for a TikTok ban was renewed by Republicans last week after the House Commerce Committee voted 50-0 to advance a bill ordering TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the company. ByteDance is controlled by the Chinese government, raising national security concerns.
The vote prompted TikTok to mobilize their users, urging them to contact members of Congress to protest. Thousands of children rallied members of Congress, some of them crying as they demanded they oppose the bill.
President Biden surprised TikTok users after passing the bill banning the platform.
President Joe Biden looks at his phone as he walks from the West Wing to Marine One
The Biden campaign in January created a TikTok account on the platform for the president
“If they pass it, I will sign it,” Biden told reporters on Friday, even as his campaign tries to involve TikTok users.
In January, the Biden campaign created a TikTok account for the president ahead of the 2024 election. Trump and his campaign do not have a TikTok account on the platform.
Trump famously tried to ban TikTok when he was president, issuing an executive order in August 2020, when he was president, ordering ByteDance to sell the social media platform within 45 days, citing the emergency powers of the executive power.
The order was blocked by a federal judge because Trump’s order exceeded his authority. Biden revoked the executive order after becoming president in 2021.
On CNBC Monday, Trump said he could have “banned TikTok” when he was president, but ultimately left it up to Congress, which he admitted was subject to lobbyists.
“They are extremely political and they are extremely subject to people called lobbyists who happen to be very talented, very good and very rich,” he said.