President Donald Trump said he might not save Tiktok after all, after calling the social media site “worthless” his first day in the White House.
Trump had previously pledged to rescue TikTok from the nationwide ban enforced by the Supreme Court, which was launched over fears the site’s Chinese owner ByteDance would be able to use American data to compromise national security.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for more data on Trump to Tiktok via email.
In the lead-up to Trump’s return to the Oval Office, he repeatedly said that he would “save” TikTok from the ban, which was originally conceived of during his first administration. The change in tone on Monday represents a harsher approach to the social media site, which had previously praised Trump for starting the “process of restoring service.”
Tiktok’s prohibition entered into force on January 19, after the corporate convinced the Supreme Court that the restrictions would constitute a violation of the Constitution.
The day after, Trump was sworn in as the next president, with Joe Biden leaving the decision on whether to enforce the ban up to Trump.
Previously, Trump had touted his campaign’s performance on TikTok, sharing a graphic of his engagement on the site during the election that revealed he received 36 billion views on the site in 2024. Trump added the caption: “Why would I want to get rid of TikTok?”
In January, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told Newsweek, “President Trump has expressed his preference to save Tiktok, and there is no greater task than Donald Trump. “
Trump on TikTok: I may not or he may do the deal. Tiktok is worthless. Worthless, if I don’t approve it. I think the US should to get half of TikTok… I think we would have joint venture pic.twitter.com/1G7mITDr2D
But Trump’s newest comments seem less enthusiastic to prevent prohibition, with the new decision in the president who describes the “useless. “
When asked through Newshouings about the ban, Trump said: “I can’t or may not do the trick. Tiktok has no value, without value, if I don’t approve it. I learned it from the owners.
“I think the United States gets some of Tiktokarray . . . I think we would have a joint venture. The United States has the right to get part of Tiktok. But if the president does not sign, that does not value anything.
The Republican President of the Chamber, Mike Johnson, told NBC on Sunday: “When President Trump published the [social] position and said:” Except Tiktok “, the way we read, is that he will verify to force a disinversion Genuine, convert the hands, assets of ASSETRAY, . . It is the platform that considers the members of Congress.
“It’s the Chinese Communist Party and their manipulation of the algorithms—they have been flooding the minds of American children with terrible messages glorifying violence and anti-Semitism and even suicide and eating disorders.”
Trump will make a decision on the TikTok ban in the coming days, but the ban will remain law until then. However, TikTok is still accessible in several parts of the U.S.
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Theo Burman is a live news journalist from Newsweek founded in London in the United Kingdom, focuses on American politics and foreign news, as well as have an effect on virtual culture on elections. In large part it covered electoral and cultural disorders in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as high -level legal issues such as Andrew Tate and Donald Trump’s judgments. Theo joined Newsweek in 2024 and has already written for Dexerto, Pinknews and News UK. He graduated from the University of Durham and News Associates. You can contact Theo by sending an email to t. burman@newsweek. com. Languages: English.