Trump defends TikTok from House bill, reversing position on app – Washington Examiner

Former President Donald Trump defended TikTok the day that legislation advanced in the House of Representatives to force a divestiture by the social media platform’s Chinese parent company, a reversal from his policies as president.

Trump spoke in favor of TikTok soon after the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted to approve Rep. Mike Gallagher’s (R-WI) Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. The bill would make it unlawful for app stores to host social media applications owned by companies connected to “foreign adversaries,” such as China, Russia, or Iran, specifically focusing on TikTok and its parent company ByteDance. The bill now awaits a floor vote in the House.

Trump’s defense reverses his position from 2020 when he issued an order for ByteDance to sell TikTok or have the app banned in the United States. The order was first tied up in courts and then reversed by President Joe Biden when he took office.

“If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business,” Trump said on his network, Truth Social, on Thursday night. “I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, to do better. They are a true Enemy of the People!” Trump’s remarks appear to be aimed at Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who Trump and many conservatives see as playing a role in Trump’s loss in 2020.

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The committee voted unanimously in favor of Gallagher’s bill, sending it to the House floor. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Thursday that the lower chamber would vote on the measure next week.

Gallagher has said his bill is not a ban but merely an attempt to sever TikTok from parent company ByteDance, due to its connections to the Chinese Communist Party.

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