Trump aims to make a deal to save TikTok
Legal brief asks to pause law that could ban app
By: Rebecca Morin
USA Today
..... President-elect Donald Trump has labeled himself as a master negotiator.
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As the popular social media platform TikTok is slated to be banned in the U.S. one day before his return to the White House, the incoming commander-in-chief said he wants to have a chance to save it.
..... "Trump along possesses the consummate deal-making expertise, the electoral mandate and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns expressed by the government - concerns which President trump himself has acknowledged," according to a brief field by Trump on Friday [12/27/2024] evening ahead of an upcoming Supreme Court hearing next month. [01/2025]
..... Earlier this year, [2024] Congress passed bipartisan legislation that was singed by President Joe Biden requiring TikTok's Beijing-based parent company ByteDance, to sell the app. The app would be banned from stores and web hosting companies in the U.S. if ByteDance doesn't sell it.
..... TikTok previously asked the Supreme Court to pause enforcement of that requirement while the company continues to make their case for why the law is unconstitutional. Earlier this month, [12/2024] the Supreme Court said they won't decide whether to keep the January 19 [2025] deadline until after the justices hod oral arguments scheduled for January 10. [2025]
..... Last week, [12/26/2024] trump called on the Supreme Court to pause the law that could ban TikTok, arguing the president-elect's negotiation skills will be able to find a solution that addresses national security concerns of China's ByteDance as well as concerns that banning the app would limit fee speech in the United States.
..... "Trump's first Term was highlighted by a series of policy triumphs achieved through historic deals, and he has a great prospect of success in this latest national security and foreign policy endeavor," the brief said without expanding on which policies.
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Trump, and his allies, have long touted the president as a 'deal maker" and said that will continue in his second round in the Oval Office, including negotiating an end to Israel's war in Gaza and vowing tariffs against allies Mexico and Canada in an effort to curb immigration to the United States -a key goal for the president-elect.
..... Although Trump attempt dot ban the app in his first term as president, the president made it a campaign promise in the 2024 presidential election to "save TikTok," as his presidential campaign often sued the app to appeal to young voters.
..... Trump's lawyers in the brief said Trump's creation of his own social media sit, Truth Social, and his sue of TikTok, where he has 14.7 million followers, allows "him to evaluate TikTok's importance as a unique medium for freedom of expression, including core political speech."
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"Trump is one of the most powerful, prolific and influential users of social media in history," the brief said.
..... But while Trump continues touting his negotiation and other skills, the president-elect is already facing hiccups with parts of his agenda -failing to keep his party united during a government funding debate.
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Trump earlier this month [12/2024] blew up an initial short-term spending deal. He failed to get Republican support for legislation he supported that would keep the U.S. government open through March while lifting the cap on the amount of debt the federal government can incur.
..... Contributing: Maureen Gropps, Karissa Waddick and Zac Anderson, USA Today.