Many leaders and tech companies have courted President-elect Donald J. Trump in recent weeks. From Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, they visited Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, flattered him at the X and donated to his inauguration fund.
But TikTok has taken these methods to the next level.
As the Chinese social networking app fights a federal law banning it from the United States unless it is sold, it publicly reported and then thanked Mr. Trump for his support in statements and videos since Friday. She even built her flattery right into the app so its 170 million US users could see it:
“As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US!” read a pop-up message on Sunday.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew made his own thank you video to Mr. Trump last week, even referring to the president’s personal TikTok account. Mr. Chu also visited Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago and has been invited to sit in a seat of honor on the court during Mr. Trump’s inauguration. Trump on Monday.
TikTok “will make every effort to please the authorities” while dealing with this ban, said Anupam Chander, a professor of law and technology at Georgetown University and an expert on the global regulation of new technologies.
“TikTok is currying favor with the president in these ways because their very existence in this country depends on him,” Mr. Chander in an interview on Sunday. “He’s their lifeline so they make sure they stay on his good side.”
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Trump may not be able to save the app in the long run as he has stated. He promised early Sunday to issue an executive order to give ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese owner, more time to make a sale that would satisfy the law, but it’s unclear whether he can extend the timeline now that the law is in place. power — or whether he has in mind a sale which would meet the terms of the law. Mr. Trump seems committed. Even before his post promising an executive order, he posted on social media platform Truth Social in all caps: “SAVE TIKTOK!”
The Biden administration also sought to make clear this weekend that TikTok did not need to shut down on Sunday to satisfy the law, calling the decision to go dark a “trick.”
“We have made our position clear and unambiguous: actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
The support of Mr. Trump on TikTok is relatively new. During his first term, he tried to ban the app in the country unless ByteDance sold it to an American company.
But in March 2024, he changed his stance when he met with Jeff Yass, a billionaire investor and Republican donor who owns a significant stake in ByteDance. Mr. Trump said they did not discuss the company. Mr. Yass helped found the trading company Susquehanna International Group.
TikTok has also sought a line with Republicans and the Trump campaign through Tony Sayer, a former Treasury official in Mr. Trump. Mr. Sayegh, who leads public affairs for Susquehanna, was a key part of the Trump campaign’s decision to join TikTok this summer.
Mr. Trump became an instant hit on TikTok, where he now has over 14 million followers. Several members of his family, including Donald Trump Jr. and his granddaughter Kai Trump, have also joined the app.
