President Trump met TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at Mar-a-Lago on Monday. The meeting comes shortly after Trump expressed a “warm spot” for the app during a news conference, crediting TikTok for helping him connect with young voters in last month’s presidential election.
On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to “save” the app, though it remains unclear how he could achieve this given the legislation passed with bipartisan support requiring TikTok to sever ties with its Chinese owner, ByteDance.
On Monday, TikTok filed an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking a temporary injunction to delay the impending ban. The app faces a January 19 deadline to comply with the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, signed into law by Joe Biden in April as part of a $95 billion foreign aid package. The law mandates TikTok to sell its U.S. operations or face removal from app stores by Apple and Google.
Lawmakers argue that TikTok’s ties to ByteDance and potential connections to the Chinese government pose significant national security risks. Congressional leaders have pressed TikTok’s CEO to find a buyer, stating, “We urge TikTok to immediately execute a qualified divestiture.” However, the process of selling TikTok, especially with China signaling it would block the sale of the app’s algorithm, presents substantial legal and financial hurdles.
In addition to his meeting with Chew, Trump is expected to meet with Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos on Tuesday and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on Wednesday, sources told ABC News. The meeting with Bezos follows a Wall Street Journal report that Amazon plans to donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund.
