President Trump Considering Executive Order to Save TikTok

With TikTok set to be banned in the United States by Sunday, should the law signed by Joe Biden requiring TikTok to be sold to an American business go into effect.

TikTok was an integral part of President Trump’s campaign strategy in order to reach young voters, and he’s been clear that it has a “warm place” in his heart.

Reportedly, President Trump is now eyeing an executive order to delay the upcoming ban for an additional 60-90 days.

Donald Trump is reportedly considering issuing an executive order once in office to suspend the TikTok ban for 60-90 days

(via @washingtonpost) pic.twitter.com/8YRV6MAKfR

— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) January 15, 2025

Mario Nawfal broke down the details:

🇺🇸 TRUMP PLOTS TIKTOK RESCUE WITH EXECUTIVE ORDER

Trump is reportedly cooking up an executive order to delay the sale-or-ban law on TikTok for 60-90 days.

Trump has made it clear he doesn’t want TikTok gone—he loves the app, where his videos have racked up nearly 4 billion… pic.twitter.com/FiNgiVe8vQ

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 15, 2025

The Washington Post reported:

President-elect Donald Trump is considering an executive order once in office that would suspend enforcement of the TikTok ban-or-sale law for 60 to 90 days, buying the administration time to negotiate a sale or alternative solution — a legally questionable effort to win a brief reprieve for the Chinese-owned app now scheduled to be banned on Sunday nationwide.

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Trump has been mulling ways to save the day for the wildly popular video app, talking through unconventional dealmaking and legal maneuvers such as an executive order that would unravel the law passed by Congress last year with bipartisan support, according to two people familiar with the deliberations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private talks.

Trump has expressed a keen interest in being seen as rescuing a platform on which he’s been told he’s widely admired, leading political aides and business allies to scramble for options that would allow him to deliver on his campaign promise to “save TikTok,” as he has said repeatedly on his more than 14 million-follower TikTok account.

“I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump said last month.

The main question is how. A law signed by President Joe Biden last year calls for the app’s owner, the Beijing-based tech giant ByteDance, to sell the app by Jan. 19 or face an immediate ban.

The Supreme Court, which considered TikTok’s challenge of the law last week, is expected to allow the law to proceed as planned but has not yet issued a ruling. The law is aimed at addressing Justice Department concerns that the Chinese government could covertly use the app to spy on Americans or broadcast propaganda.

Trump, one of the people said, is eager to be seen as “making a deal” and signing an executive order soon after the deadline’s passing —just one day before his inauguration —would give the proceedings a cinematic flourish.

Forbes added:

Trump, who will take office Jan. 20, is considering an executive order that would suspend the enforcement of the law against TikTok for two to three months, the Post reported, citing two people familiar with the deliberations and noting legal experts have argued Trump may not be able to overcome the law’s bipartisan support.

One of the people told the Post that Trump is eager to be seen as “making a deal” that would save TikTok.

Trump, who has already asked the Supreme Court to delay the law’s effectiveness date, has publicly supported keeping TikTok in the U.S. while his lawyers have characterized the app as a “unique medium for freedom of expression, including core political speech.”

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