Trump says fate of TikTok should be in his hands when he returns to White House

President-elect Trump says he should be the one to make the decision about whether TikTok can continue operating in the United States because of the unique national security and First Amendment issues raised by the case, he said in a brief address to a friend on Friday.

Trump’s argument comes in a “no side” amicus brief filed Friday, weeks before the Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments on Jan. 10, 2025, on a law requiring TikTok to be freed from foreign adversarial control.

DIVESTMENT OF TIKTOK COULD BE THE ‘DEAL OF THE CENTURY’ FOR TRUMP, SAYS CHAIRMAN OF THE CHINA COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a company based in Beijing and linked to the Chinese Communist Party.

“Today, President Donald J. Trump filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the Court to extend the deadline that would have caused the immediate shutdown of TikTok and allow President Trump the opportunity to resolve the issue in a way that saves TikTok and preserves America’s national security once he takes office again of the President of the United States on January 20, 2025,” Trump spokesman and new White House communications director Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scooteri)

“President Donald J. Trump (“President Trump”) is the 45th and soon to be 47th President of the United States of America,” the summary states. “On January 20, 2025, President Trump will assume responsibility for the United States’ national security, foreign policy and other vital executive functions.”

Trump claims that “this case represents an unprecedented, new and difficult tension between the right to free speech on the one hand and concerns about foreign policy and national security on the other.” “As the incoming CEO, President Trump has a particularly strong interest in and responsibility for these national security and foreign policy issues, and he is the right constitutional actor to resolve the dispute through political means.

President Trump also has a special interest in the First Amendment issues raised in this case,” the summary states. “With his historic victory on November 5, 2024, President Trump received a strong electoral mandate from American voters to protect the free speech rights of all Americans— including the 170 million Americans who use TikTok.”

“President Trump is in a unique position to defend these interests, because ‘the President and Vice President of the United States are the only elected officials who represent all of the nation’s constituents,'” the summary continued.

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