President-elect Trump is seeking to “save” the popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, according to his transition team – even if the Supreme Court looks to enforce a federal law that could essentially outlaw it in the U.S.
When questioned on Wednesday about a Washington Post report claiming that Trump might issue an executive order to prevent TikTok from being banned, Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., Trump’s pick for national security adviser, suggested that Trump could consider the move.
“If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the law, President Trump has been very clear. First, TikTok is a widely used platform by many Americans and has been instrumental in his campaign and in spreading his message,” Waltz told Fox News’ Bret Baier. “But number two, he’s going to protect their data. He’s a dealmaker. I don’t want to get ahead of our executive orders, but we’re going to create this space to put that deal in place.”
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Karoline Leavitt, the Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman, echoed that sentiment on Thursday.
“President Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to save TikTok, and there’s no better dealmaker than Donald Trump,” Leavitt told Fox News Digital.
A recent law giving the company nine months to either divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or be removed from U.S.-based app stores and hosting services was the subject of oral arguments heard by the Supreme Court in January.
Trump’s attorneys filed an amicus brief in the case in December, urging the Supreme Court to delay a potential ban until Trump takes office.
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The Supreme Court’s decision on the fast-tracked case will determine whether the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act – a law signed by President Biden that passed Congress in April with bipartisan approval – would be enforced and restrict U.S. access to the app.
There are roughly 170 million active American users on the social media app, data shows.
While Trump tried to ban the app from U.S. access during his first administration, he credited TikTok for reaching young voters during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Fox News Digital reached out to TikTok for comment and did not receive a response by time of publication.
Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
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