The Chinese Communist Party is using TikTok to launch a sophisticated campaign to undermine and evade President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on China, according to a report.
<a href="https://networkcontagion.us/reports/5-2-25-sourcing-deception-and-influence-by-design-how-the-ccp-uses-tiktok-to-fight-the-trade-war/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The report</a>, from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), alleges that the CCP is behind a trend of videos that urge consumers to buy directly from Chinese companies that claim to produce goods for American brands, or to use other potential tariff evasion techniques.
Following Trump’s April 2 announcement of the “reciprocal tariff,” viral TikTok videos began urging consumers to bypass American brands and buy directly from Chinese manufacturers at cheaper prices. TikTok is accused of being heavily influenced by the CCP, and due to its ownership by Beijing-headquartered ByteDance, it is subject to Chinese law requiring it to assist and cooperate with national intelligence work.
The report comes as a 145% duty on goods imported from China goes into effect as part of Trump’s plan to promote free and fair trade between the United States and China. Trump levied tariffs across the board against countries across the world, but China was always seen as the main target of the &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariffs.
One of the videos featured in the report shows a man claiming his factory has created goods for “most of the luxury goods around the world,” including Gucci, Prada, Coach, and Louis Vuitton.
“The USA and its little European brothers are trying to refuse Chinese goods,” the man says in the video. “Why don’t you just contact us and buy from us. You won’t believe the prices we give you.”
Many of the videos, which have received more than 50 million views on TikTok alone, show Chinese influencers in factories promoting products like shoes and bags made by Chinese companies.
According to the NCRI report, the messaging is amplified by TikTok’s highly-persuasive algorithm known for shaping attitudes and behavior.
“When CCP-linked influencers encourage Americans to ‘cut out the middleman,’ what they’re really promoting is a system designed to defeat tariff enforcement while appearing trendy and harmless,” NCRI co-founder and director Joel Finkelstein told The Daily Wire.
A TikTok spokesperson disputed the report in a statement to The Daily Wire and claimed it was an attempt to harm the Chinese-owned company.
“NCRI is attempting to peddle false theories through yet another bogus ‘report’ on TikTok,” the spokesperson said. “While NCRI’s own ‘analysis’ acknowledges tariff-related content exists across U.S. social media, its conclusions that single out TikTok are unfounded, inaccurate and a deliberate effort to malign our business.”
Finkelstein says most reports on the viral TikTok trend overlook the CCP’s role in orchestrating the trend. The Chinese have a clear interest in undermining U.S. tariffs, through both the loopholes highlighted but also boosting negative sentiment in the United States.
“We started this investigation because the mainstream coverage — NYT, Bloomberg — framed this as just a curious trend, maybe suspicious, but offered no evidence and no method,” Finkelstein told The Daily Wire. “No one was asking: what if this isn’t just viral content? What if it’s a state-directed operation? We explored that hypothesis — and the data is overwhelming.”
In the 13-page report, NCRI outlines how the CCP is behind the viral trend as part of a campaign to undermine Trump’s tariffs.
According to the report, the social media trend coincides with the CCP Ministry of Commerce <a href="https://x.com/MOFCOM_China/status/1913166550565326988" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcing its</a> “Shopping in China campaign” which encourages foreigners to consume Chinese goods and the <a href="http://en.people.cn/n3/2025/0411/c90000-20300564.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement o</a>f  “major consumption promotion campaign for foreigners” in the CCP newspaper People’s Daily on April 11.
NCRI accuses TikTok of amplifying the content produced by CCP-affiliated influencers in the CCP’s top-down “Shopping in China campaign.”
NCRI conducted a test of the “algorithmic stickiness” of the videos, which are often tagged with “#sourcing,” and found that videos showed more than 4X higher “stickiness” than videos on other trending topics.
“Our testing showed that TikTok’s algorithm promoted #sourcing content at over 4X the rate of other trending topics — including NHL content during playoff season,” said Finkelstein. “That kind of stickiness suggests the platform isn’t just surfacing this material — it’s actively reinforcing CCP-aligned messaging with every swipe.”
The English-language content is tailored to young Western consumers, particularly women, and performs better on TikTok than on other platforms. According to NCRI, it often features anti-Western tropes like “Why pay greedy American middlemen?” While similar #sourcing posts on Instagram remained steady, their presence on TikTok surged.
On Instagram, the number of engagement of identical #sourcing videos remained constant, even as TikTok’s surged, according to NCRI.
NCRI accuses bot accounts of amplifying the videos on X with often identical captions. The group alleges that some of the social media chatter is encouraging people to use “triangle shipping,” a tariff evasion that routes goods through a third country before their final destination.
As an example, NCRI presents the case of a TikTok Account, Nihao Jewelry, which was &#8220;accused of using triangle shipping and invoice fraud by disgruntled customers,&#8221; according to the report. NCRI’s report also shows one-star reviews of the company, including one that alleges a customer’s package was shipped to Jamaica.
“Triangle shipping isn’t just a loophole — it’s a deliberate tactic promoted within CCP-aligned sourcing networks to disguise origin, exploit customs blind spots, and move goods outside the reach of U.S. tariffs,” Finkelstein said. “What makes triangle shipping especially dangerous is that it’s being normalized through viral content.”
NCRI further points out that in several Reddit communities, users are discussing triangle shipping — including one who translated a Mandarin-language article, reportedly from a Chinese seller, explaining how to use the method.
On Friday, the de minimis exemption — a shipping loophole that allowed goods valued at $800 or less to enter the United States duty-free — <a href="https://apnews.com/article/de-minimis-trump-tariffs-china-1b52319a85572331baf31cb6287ecddf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expired</a>. According to Finkelstein, its expiration prevents Chinese sellers from committing invoice fraud by falsely undervaluing shipments to qualify for the exemption.
In another review of Nihao Jewelry shared in the NCRI report, a customer alleges that the company under-invoiced as a way to use the minimis exemption before it expired.
The Daily Wire cannot independently confirm allegations against Nihao Jewelry.
ByteDance, which owns TikTok, is facing pressure from U.S. lawmakers to divest from TikTok in order for it to remain available in the country. The Supreme Court has held that the so-called TikTok ban <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-allows-tiktok-ban-to-take-effect">is constitutional</a> on the grounds that concerns about the Chinese government using TikTok to harvest the private data of millions of Americans are legitimate.
TikTok was fined roughly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/business/tiktok-eu-data-china.html">$600 million</a> in Europe on Friday for improperly transferring user data to China.

US Senate Pass Bill Crucial To The Future Of TikTok

China-Owned TikTok Using Platform To Undermine and Evade U.S. Tariffs, Report Finds

China

Donald Trump

Tariffs

TikTok

President Trump on Friday signed an executive order extending the deadline for TikTok&#8217;s Chinese parent company to sell its United States operations for a second time, saying that the acquisition “requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed.”
“We do not want TikTok to ‘go dark.’ We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114280893859636366">said</a> on Truth Social.
Had Trump not granted an extension to ByteDance, the Chinese-owned parent company of TikTok would have been required to carry out a “qualified divesture” of its United States business per a law signed by former President Joe Biden in April 2024, with internet service providers and app stores prohibited from hosting the platform.
The app, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2024/09/24/in-an-election-year-more-americans-are-using-tiktok-as-a-news-source/">used</a> by over 170 million Americans, has faced scrutiny from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle amid growing concerns about China&#8217;s technological influence and data collection capabilities.
Biden’s law went into effect on January 19, with Apple and Google removing TikTok from their respective app stores until Trump extended the deadline by 75 days on January 20 when he took office.
According to CNBC, several major American tech companies have <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/04/trumps-extends-tiktok-second-time.html">expressed interest</a> in acquiring TikTok&#8217;s United States operations, including Oracle, AppLovin, and a consortium of private capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Blackstone. Amazon has also reportedly made a last-second bid to purchase the social media platform.
Despite interest from American companies, any deal still requires approval from the Chinese Communist Party, adding complexity to negotiations.
The announcement came just days after Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs, imposing a 34% tariff rate on China, which, combined with existing tariffs, creates a total rate of 54% on all imports from one of America’s largest trading partners.
Trump appears wary of the impact tariffs might have on the CCP’s willingness to approve a TikTok deal, insisting that China continue to negotiate in “good faith” despite the hefty tariffs.
“We hope to continue working in Good Faith with China, who I understand are not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs (Necessary for Fair and Balanced Trade between China and the U.S.A.!).”
The president has also indicated he might consider reducing China&#8217;s tariffs to facilitate a TikTok deal.
“Maybe I’ll give [China] a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done,” Trump <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/26/trump-says-he-may-reduce-china-tariffs-to-help-close-a-tiktok-deal.html">said</a> in late March, “TikTok is big, but every point in tariffs is worth more than TikTok.”

TikTok Logo With US Flag

Trump Extends TikTok Sale Deadline By 75 Days As Acquisition Talks Continue

Big Tech

Foreign Policy

Global Politics

Politics

Technology

1Reagan – TCS – 1×1 (1) copy

How Long Should A Woman Wait For A Ring Before Walking Away?

Dating

Entertainment

Reagan Conrad

Relationships

Television

The Bachelor

Woke Culture

On Monday President Trump signed an executive order directing the Commerce and Treasury departments to create a US Sovereign Wealth Fund, which might be used to purchase a stake in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tiktok">TikTok</a>. 
A sovereign wealth fund (SWF) is a state-owned investment portfolio that governments use to purchase various financial assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, etc. SWFs have become increasingly common over the last few decades – nations such as China, Norway, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have <a href="https://www.swfinstitute.org/fund-rankings/sovereign-wealth-fund">trillions of dollars in assets</a>, and several American states including <a href="https://apfc.org/performance/">Alaska</a>, <a href="https://www.utimco.org/media/3939/2022-puf-audited-financial-statements.pdf">Texas</a>, and <a href="https://www.sic.state.nm.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/SIC-Stakeholders-Report_20210818_WEB.pdf">New Mexico</a> have SWFs worth tens of billions of dollars.
It&#8217;s not quite clear where the money would come from for the U.S. SWF because &#8220;the U.S. has significant budget and trade deficits&#8221; and not a budget surplus, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/sovereign-wealth-fund-trump-executive-order-2ee5088f">The Wall Street Journal</a>. 
SWFs are often financed by budget surpluses or profits generated by state-owned enterprises – after covering costs the government invests some taxpayer dollars to generate more revenue in the future via capital gains, pay for pension benefits, or promote certain policy goals like economic development or the control of &#8220;essential&#8221; resources. 
Like, say, a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/wealth/trump-signs-executive-order-create-sovereign-wealth-fund-2025-02-03/">massive social media company</a>.
President Trump has expressed interest in taking a stake in the social media giant before  –  he entertained the idea during the first press conference of his new administration.
“TikTok is worthless if I don’t approve it,” Trump <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS62kZg19eE">said</a>, “If I do the deal it’s worth maybe $1 trillion … if I do the deal for the United States I think we should get half.”
TikTok has more than 170 million American users and is one of the <a href="https://explodingtopics.com/blog/most-visited-websites">most frequently visited websites in the world</a>, but has come under considerable scrutiny as ‘Chinese spyware’ – the platform is currently owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance, and it has <a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-china-bytedance-user-data-d257d98125f69ac80f983e6067a84911">allegedly</a> been used to spy on American citizens and domestic enemies of the CCP. 
“TikTok’s own conduct makes clear that it is beholden to the CCP and presents an unacceptable threat to U.S. national security,” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said in support of efforts to ban the app.
Last year Congress, with <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2024145">bipartisan support</a>, passed a <a href="https://d1dth6e84htgma.cloudfront.net/TIKTOK_xml_655b9d7933.pdf">law</a> that effectively banned TikTok in the US unless the company was sold to a different owner. The Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-allows-tiktok-ban-to-take-effect">upheld</a> that decision in January, shortly before Trump returned to the White House, concluding that the ban did not violate the First Amendment.
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” the court wrote. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
The ban went into effect on January 19th, and the app briefly went dark in the United States, but one of President Trump’s Day 1 executive orders gave ByteDance a 75-day extension to find a buyer.
Trump has been highly critical of TikTok in the past, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-trump-says-he-will-take-action-to-ban-chinese-owned-app-tiktok-from-u-s">attempted to ban the app</a> during his first term. However, his attitude towards the platform has warmed considerably since then – he currently has more than 15 million followers on TikTok and used the app during the election campaign to drive up his support among <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-gen-z-voted-may-surprise-you">younger voters</a>, who disproportionately use TikTok.
Previously the President has indicated that he was <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/wealth/trump-signs-executive-order-create-sovereign-wealth-fund-2025-02-03/">in talks</a> with multiple potential buyers and that a decision would likely be made sometime in February. Other private investors have <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g3z55zz7xo">expressed interest</a> in purchasing TikTok, including Shark Tank investor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kevin-oleary-signals-eye-popping-sum-of-cash-on-the-table-to-buy-tiktok">Kevin O’Leary</a>, and major American tech companies like <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/white-house-talks-have-oracle-us-investors-take-over-tiktok-npr-reports-2025-01-25/">Oracle</a> and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/trump-says-microsoft-is-talks-acquire-tiktok-2025-01-28/">Microsoft</a>.
While TikTok is still accessible to current users, the app is not available on major American app stores. The exact details of a potential deal remain unclear, and the president’s efforts to save the platform have generated some <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-intel-chairman-tom-cotton-leads-charge-against-reviving-tiktok">pushback</a> on Capitol Hill.

USA national flag and currency usd money banknotes. Business and finance concept

Trump Orders The Creation Of U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund, Signals Interest In TikTok

Department of Commerce

Department of the Treasury

Social Media

As I joined the growing number of tuxedoed Washingtonians abandoning their Ubers on 14th Street, choosing to brave the frigid temperatures rather than wait another minute behind a blockade, I tried to ignore the biting wind and focus on my mantra: I have to make it to the TikTok party.
Shuffling down the road, I wondered what to expect. Would the Inauguration Eve shindig be just another DC party full of lobbyists and waiters circulating with chicken skewers? Or would I be plunged headfirst into an unfamiliar scene and spend the night awkwardly mingling with too-cool influencers?
It was a little bit of both. I waited in line with a prominent conservative tweeter and a newly-minted White House staffer. The second we got inside, I saw a platoon of trendy partygoers jostling to get their fur-collared overcoats from coat check as a clip of Matt Walsh played on the screen behind them.
Turning to my left, I saw Chelly, a TikTok influencer who specializes in Vivek Ramaswamy impersonations. That pretty much summed up the vibe at the Power 30 Awards and Inauguration Party.
<div id="attachment_864407" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-864407" class="size-large wp-image-864407" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-200-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-200-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-200-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-200-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-200-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-200-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-200-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-200.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Shindelverse Photography)</div>
Maybe this is how Democrats feel all the time. You show up to a party and see Beyonce doing lemon drops with Janet Yellen. But most of us aren’t used to this seamless intermingling of politics and celebrity. I can safely say that I’ve never been invited to a party where Liz Truss and Conor McGregor were feted in the VIP lounge while people got bottle service downstairs in honor of Walsh, his fellow Daily Wire hosts, and other conservative influencers like Riley Gaines.
<div id="attachment_864413" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-864413" class="size-large wp-image-864413" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-049-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-049-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-049-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-049-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-049-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-049-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-049-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-049.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Shindelverse Photography)</div>
You could argue – and many have – that this party was nothing more than TikTok’s ploy to woo those in Trump’s orbit so the president would save the Chinese-owned app. And that was obviously part of it, as the #SaveTikTok step-and-repeat set up in the lobby suggested.
But there was something else going on here. TikTok didn’t need to spend $50,000 on a party just to lobby the Trump administration — that’s what lobbyists are for. Nor did the party need to be so … cool. The bottle girls with sparklers and signs, like something out of a Miami nightclub; the DJ spinning a set that multiple people described as “like a college party – in a good way!” And of course, the headline event: Waka Flocka Flame, live in person, throwing McDonald’s cheeseburgers to the crowd.
<div id="attachment_864411" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-864411" class="size-large wp-image-864411" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-338-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-338-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-338-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-338-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-338-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-338-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-338-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-338.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Shindelverse Photography)</div>
This isn’t the kind of party you throw because you have to. This is the kind of party you throw because you want to.
By now, I’m probably the 100th writer to comment on the vibe shift that followed Donald Trump back to the White House. Whether it’s Nelly performing at the Inauguration or Kim Kardashian praising Melania Trump’s swearing-in outfit, the most unlikely people are rushing to celebrate Trumpworld.
<a class="c-link" href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." data-sk="tooltip_parent">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a>
Critics – the haters, to put it in TikTok parlance – say these celebrities are just acting out of fear. But we know that’s not true, because they didn’t do it last time. For the past eight years, hating Trump has been as en vogue in Hollywood as Ozempic and cropped sweatshirts. But things are different now. Famous people don’t just want to celebrate conservatives – they want people to know they’re doing it.
Oscar de la Renta didn’t just dress Usha Vance — the label bragged about it. Maybe Kim Kardashian felt like she had to praise Melania to seem polite. But her sister Khloe clearly had something else in mind when she shared a Daily Wire reporter’s tweet criticizing Los Angeles’ Democratic mayor. Clearly, something has shifted in the American consciousness.
Which brings us back to the TikTok party.
<div id="attachment_864433" style="width: 394px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-864433" class="size-large wp-image-864433" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-057-384x576.jpg" alt="" width="384" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-057-384x576.jpg 384w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-057-200x300.jpg 200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-057-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-057-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-057-1360x2040.jpg 1360w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/SHINDELVERSE-057.jpg 1365w" sizes="(max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px" />(Shindelverse Photography)</div>
Watching Taylor Lorenz and her bejeweled mask mingle with content creators and conservative journalists in the VIP lounge, I couldn’t help but think about Joe and Stewart Alsop, brothers whose columns were required reading in midcentury Washington. In 1952, Joe predicted that “Eisenhower’s Washington will, I think, be unbearably boring,” while Stewart dismissed Republicans as “dull fellows who work late and go to bed early.” Years later, Joe cheered the Kennedy administration for reviving DC’s social scene and influencing it with “glamour, which is not a quality usually associated with Washington.”
Since then, Republicans have always been the boring party. When Democrats are in the White House, the media rush to profile where the president dines, what neighborhoods are being made trendy by young staffers, and more. Republican administrations, meanwhile, bring weepy pieces about the death of the district’s cocktail bars or innovative restaurants.
That doesn’t seem to be happening this time. For the first time since the Alsops cheered the fun and freedom that would come with Camelot, the tastemakers and socialites want to hang out with Republicans.
If that’s not a vibe shift, I don’t know what is.

SHINDELVERSE-346

I Went To TikTok’s Inauguration Party. The Trump Vibe Shift Is Real.

Washington D.C.

Former model <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/chrissy-teigen">Chrissy Teigen</a> weighed in on the discourse currently surrounding <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/social-media">social media</a> following the temporary ban of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tiktok">TikTok</a>.
The 39-year-old cookbook author said she supports a “ban” of all social media between certain hours of the day, saying this should be instituted by the “government” or an “ethics committee.”
“I personally think that one day there will be the most incredible rule,” Teigen said in a video clip uploaded to her Instagram Stories, according to <a href="https://people.com/chrissy-teigen-says-she-thinks-there-should-be-curfew-on-social-media-following-tiktok-ban-drama-8777146">People</a>. ”I think the government, or some kind of ethics committee — somebody — should shut off social media between 6 p.m and 6 a.m. Leave it all up. Everyone gets to do anything they want, but only between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Shut it off. Done,” she added.
Teigen said she believes life was better before social media took over everyone’s lives.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl%3D1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA..&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1737430804505000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2S7KENhvlT7FAUHjrI0iAs">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a>
&#8220;Guys, life was great. Life was awesome before this,” she said. ”I know it’s hard to see it now. But it’s doable. It’s very doable. This doesn’t have to be our lives. And I say this for myself as well because — obviously — I’m on here [social media] right now doing this. But it doesn’t have to define us or be our whole lives,” Teigen said.
The social media influencer has been involved in social media drama in the past, including deleting thousands of old tweets and apologizing for comments she made on X. &#8220;My targets didn&#8217;t deserve them. No one does. Many of them needed empathy, kindness, understanding and support, not my meanness masquerading as a kind of casual, edgy humor,&#8221; she <a href="https://chrissyteigen.medium.com/hi-again-3bb3faffa76d">wrote</a> on Medium in 2021. &#8220;I was a troll, full stop. And I am so sorry.&#8221;
TikTok restored service on Sunday after the popular social media app briefly went offline on Saturday in response to a new U.S. law that forces its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to be completely divested from TikTok or else be banned in the U.S., as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tiktok-restores-service-without-change-after-trump-statement-of-support">reported</a>.
The ban was initiated as a means of ensuring the security of private information from China. Now Trump is saying he’ll extend the deadline to give the company time to comply with the conditions that have been laid out. 
“I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security,” Trump said. “The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.”

Chrissy Teigen

Chrissy Teigen Suggests ‘The Government’ Should Shut Down Social Media After 6PM

Chrissy Teigen Suggests 'The Government' Should Shut Down Social Media After 6PM

Celebrities

House Speaker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mike-johnson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Johnson</a> (R-LA) said during an interview on Sunday that the U.S. Congress will &#8220;enforce the law&#8221; that requires TikTok to be fully divested from communist China or else be banned in the United States.
Johnson made the remarks when asked by Kristen Welker on NBC News&#8217; &#8220;Meet The Press&#8221; if the U.S. was sending a &#8220;message of weakness&#8221; to China after President-elect Donald Trump signaled support for trying to save the app earlier in the day.
&#8220;No, I think we will enforce the law,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;And when President Trump issued the truth post and said, &#8216;Save TikTok,&#8217; the way we read that is that he&#8217;s going to try to force along a true divestiture, changing of the hands, the ownership.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s not the platform that members of Congress are concerned about,&#8221; he noted. &#8220;It&#8217;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. I mean, crazy kind of stuff. And they&#8217;re mining the data of American citizens. It&#8217;s a very dangerous thing.&#8221;
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl%3D1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA..&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1737044212122000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mp2MZNwEXBk00lKmCtOss">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a>
&#8220;The Chinese Communist Party is not our friend. And we have to make sure this changes hands,&#8221; he added. &#8220;I&#8217;m really heartened to see that Google and Apple and Microsoft have taken the steps to comply with the law. There needs to be a sale, a full divestiture from the Chinese Communist Party. And I think President Trump is the one who can make that deal happen, so we&#8217;re excited about it.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) says Congress “will enforce the law” ensuring that TikTok is completely sold or it will be banned.
He says there must be “a full divestiture from the Chinese Communist Party,” not just a 50% sale.
He adds: “It’s not the platform that members of… <a href="https://t.co/TRnWS3vWtT">pic.twitter.com/TRnWS3vWtT</a>
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1881051459896119312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tiktok-restores-service-without-change-after-trump-statement-of-support">TikTok Restores Service Without Change After Trump Statement Of Support</a>

Mike Johnson

Speaker Johnson: U.S. ‘Will Enforce The Law’ On TikTok Ban, China Must Fully Divest

Communist China

Congress

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tom-cotton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tom Cotton</a> (R-AR) signaled stiff opposition on Sunday to efforts to try to revive TikTok in the United States.
Cotton, who has been one of the leading voices against China in Washington over the last decade, released a statement with Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) in response to U.S. tech companies complying with U.S. law to remove TikTok from their app stores.
&#8220;We commend Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft for following the law and halting operations with ByteDance and TikTok, and we encourage other companies to do the same,&#8221; they wrote. &#8220;The law, after all, risks ruinous bankruptcy for any company who violates it. Now that the law has taken effect, there&#8217;s no legal basis for any kind of &#8216;extension&#8217; of its effective date.&#8221;
&#8220;For TikTok to come back online in the future, ByteDance must agree to a sale that satisfies the law&#8217;s qualified-divestiture requirements by severing all ties between TikTok and Communist China,&#8221; they continued. &#8220;Only then will Americans be protected from the grave threat posed to their privacy and security by a communist-controlled TikTok.&#8221;
Cotton responded directly to TikTok later on Sunday after the company released a statement saying that it was coming back online because President-elect Donald Trump released a statement saying that he wanted to save the company.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl%3D1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA..&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1737044212122000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mp2MZNwEXBk00lKmCtOss">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a>
&#8220;Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability under the law, not just from DOJ, but also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and state AGs,&#8221; Cotton said. &#8220;Think about it.&#8221;
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously last week to uphold the Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, Cotton noted that the company had nearly an entire year to be sold up to this point.
&#8220;ByteDance and its Chinese Communist masters had nine months to sell TikTok before the Sunday deadline,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The very fact that Communist China refuses to permit its sale reveals exactly what TikTok is: a communist spy app. The Supreme Court correctly rejected TikTok’s lies and propaganda masquerading as legal arguments.&#8221;

Confirmation Hearing Held For Secretary Of Defense Nominee Pete Hegseth

Senate Intel Chairman Tom Cotton Leads Charge Against Reviving TikTok

Tom Cotton

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tiktok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a> said on Sunday that it was restoring service after it briefly went offline on Saturday in response to a new U.S. law that forces its parent company, ByteDance, to be completely divested from TikTok or else be banned in the U.S.
&#8220;In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,&#8221; TikTok said in a statement. &#8220;We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive.&#8221;
TikTok claimed that the issue was about &#8220;the First Amendment&#8221; and &#8220;arbitrary censorship&#8221; when, in reality, it&#8217;s about the company harvesting the data of Americans that can be used to weaponize algorithms to impact how Americans think and behave in line with interests of communist China.
The statement comes after Trump, who led the charge to ban TikTok during his first term in office, posted on social media that he was asking companies to let TikTok stay online.
Trump said that he wants the United States to own 50% of TikTok and said that allowing China to still own the other half would not be a problem.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl%3D1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA..&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1737044212122000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mp2MZNwEXBk00lKmCtOss">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a>
&#8220;I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.&#8221;
However, even if Trump issues an executive order on TikTok, there are certain conditions that must be met to allow for the 90-day extension, which include the president having to certify to Congress that:
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>(A) a path to executing a qualified divestiture has been identified with respect to such application;</li>
<li>(B) evidence of significant progress toward executing such qualified divestiture has been produced with respect to such application; and</li>
<li>(C) there are in place the relevant binding legal agreements to enable execution of such qualified divestiture during the period of such extension.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-AR) slammed TikTok&#8217;s statement in a post on X.
&#8220;Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability under the law, not just from DOJ, but also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and state AGs,&#8221; Cotton posted on X. &#8220;Think about it.&#8221;

In this photo illustration, the TikTok logo is seen

TikTok Restores Service Without Change After Trump Statement Of Support

Executive

President-elect Donald Trump said over the weekend that he will &#8220;most likely&#8221; give <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tiktok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a>, the social media company owned by the Chinese-controlled company ByteDance, an extension of 90 days to be sold off before it faces being banned in the United States.
Trump made the remarks during an interview with NBC News after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld a law on Friday that requires ByteDance to be completely divested from the app or be banned from the U.S.
&#8220;I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate. We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation.&#8221;
&#8220;If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday,&#8221; he continued.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl%3D1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA..&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1737044212122000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mp2MZNwEXBk00lKmCtOss">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a>
President Joe Biden signed the law forcing the app to be sold last April, yet the administration does not want to take credit for it because they are worried about backlash from those who might be negatively impacted if the app ceases operations.
TikTok has said that it will &#8220;go dark&#8221; starting on Sunday, something that the Biden White House claimed was a &#8220;stunt&#8221; as they seek to punt the ball to the Trump administration.
&#8220;We have seen the most recent statement from TikTok,&#8221; said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. &#8220;It is a stunt, and we see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday.&#8221;
&#8220;We have laid out our position clearly and straightforwardly: actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;So TikTok and other companies should take up any concerns with them.&#8221;

In this photo illustration, a woman’s silhouette holds a

Trump To Potentially Give TikTok 90-Day Extension To Be Sold Before Ban

U.S.

Investor Kevin O&#8217;Leary said on Friday that he is willing to pay tens of billions of dollars for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tiktok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a>, the social media app that the U.S. Congress passed a law to force the sale of due to its control by the Chinese Communist Party.
&#8220;As of midnight on the 19th, any service provider — that could be an Apple, that could be an Oracle, it could be a video compression technology company that&#8217;s being paid as a consulting service, any of them — to keep this thing alive, it&#8217;s subject to [a] $5,000 a day fine times 170 million,&#8221; he said. &#8220;That&#8217;s over $1 billion a day.&#8221;
&#8220;So as of right now, unless the company enters into an agreement to be purchased by an American syndicate — and Biden, who’s the executive right now, waives for 90 days — this thing goes dark at midnight because who’s going to take on a billion risk at midnight?&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Who’s going to do that? What counsel would advise that? This is the most interesting, complicated, crazy situation I’ve ever been involved in. I’m really excited about it.&#8221;
When asked by Fox News host Bill Hemmer what the price tag was to buy the social media company, O&#8217;Leary responded that he was willing to pay $20 billion for it.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl%3D1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA..&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1737044212122000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mp2MZNwEXBk00lKmCtOss">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a>
“Right now, $20 billion is on the table — cash, cash,&#8221; he said. &#8220;$20 billion.&#8221;
It was unclear what other investors were involved in the potential purchase of the social media app.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Kevin O&#8217;Leary says &#8220;$20B is on the table&#8221; in bid to buy TikTok and explains that service providers &#8220;that keep this thing alive&#8221; after the deadline are subject to fines. <a href="https://t.co/3en5Ziu8SP">pic.twitter.com/3en5Ziu8SP</a>
— Fox News (@FoxNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1880342094407168140?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2025</a></blockquote>

Kevin O’Leary

Kevin O’Leary Signals Eye-Popping Sum Of Cash On The Table To Buy TikTok

General

Kevin O'Leary

President-elect Donald Trump responded to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-allows-tiktok-ban-to-take-effect?topStoryPosition=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Supreme Court&#8217;s Friday ruling</a> that upholds a ban on Chinese-owned TikTok, saying that he will decide whether to take any executive action &#8220;in the not too distant future.&#8221;
Following the high court&#8217;s ruling, the ban on TikTok will go into effect on Sunday unless the social media platform&#8217;s parent company — Chinese-owned ByteDance — sells TikTok to an American company. The Biden administration <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-administration-trump-implement-tiktok-ban-rcna188155" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it will leave the issue for Trump to address as soon as he is sworn in on Monday.
Trump, who has reportedly considered issuing an executive order to allow TikTok to remain available in app stores in the U.S., said in a <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113844584193010573" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on Truth Social that the Supreme Court&#8217;s ruling wasn&#8217;t surprising, and added that he would &#8220;review the situation&#8221; before taking any executive action.
&#8220;The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it. My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!&#8221; Trump wrote.
Enforcement of the law will be the executive branch&#8217;s responsibility, and Trump <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/17/politics/tiktok-ban-supreme-court/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CNN shortly after the ruling was handed down that the decision on TikTok&#8217;s future &#8220;ultimately goes up to me, so you’re going to see what I’m going to do.&#8221;
&#8220;Congress has given me the decision, so I’ll be making the decision,&#8221; he added.
Earlier on Friday, Trump said he spoke to Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping about multiple issues, including TikTok.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl%3D1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA..&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1737044212122000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mp2MZNwEXBk00lKmCtOss">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a>
“I just spoke to Chairman Xi Jinping of China. The call was a very good one for both China and the U.S.A.,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately. We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects. President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!”
Trump has flipped on the TikTok issue between his first and second terms. During his first term, Trump attempted to ban TikTok, but he recently met with TikTok&#8217;s CEO and <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/12/16/us-news/donald-trump-has-warm-spot-in-my-heart-for-tiktok-as-app-store-ban-looms-in-january/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he has a &#8220;warm spot&#8221; for the social media giant after it helped energize young Americans who voted for him in the 2024 election.
TikTok &#8220;collects extensive personal information from and about its users,&#8221; the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/17/politics/tiktok-ban-supreme-court/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>, adding, that the platform does “not dispute that the government has an important and well-grounded interest in preventing China from collecting the personal data of tens of millions of U.S. TikTok users. Nor could they.&#8221; U.S. lawmakers and the Biden administration raised alarms about the national security threat presented by TikTok, arguing that the communist government could manipulate the platform&#8217;s content in a way that pushes Chinese propaganda on American citizens.
The Supreme Court acknowledged the threat, writing, “Data collection and analysis is a common practice in this digital age. But TikTok’s scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the Government’s national security concerns.”

Trump Responds To ‘Expected’ SCOTUS TikTok Ruling, Says He Will ‘Review The Situation’

Trump Responds To 'Expected' SCOTUS TikTok Ruling, Says He Will 'Review The Situation'

SCOTUS

Supreme Court

Menu