According to recent reports, the Trump cabinet will include both anti-TikTok and pro-TikTok people. Some Republicans are expressing absolutist, pro-ban positions but others, like Marco Rubio (who has been bashing TikTok for a while) say they will defer to Trump.
Some politicians, unsurprisingly, can't resist deploying some classic paranoia (South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem: [CCP's] No. 1 desire is to destroy America") while repeating familiar talking points.
Trump, like Kamala Harris, used TikTok for campaigning. Harris was of course the second in command in the administration pursuing the ban. Her opponent, meanwhile, tried to ban TikTok via an executive order in 2020.
TikTok is perceived both as a national security threat and as an incredibly powerful tool for reaching younger voters. Politicians don't want to choose between looking tough and using a technology that - they clearly believe - can help them win elections.
Trump not only eventually joined TikTok... A few months ago, he promised to "save TikTok in America" if elected.
Some politicians, unsurprisingly, can't resist deploying some classic paranoia (South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem: [CCP's] No. 1 desire is to destroy America") while repeating familiar talking points.
Trump, like Kamala Harris, used TikTok for campaigning. Harris was of course the second in command in the administration pursuing the ban. Her opponent, meanwhile, tried to ban TikTok via an executive order in 2020.
TikTok is perceived both as a national security threat and as an incredibly powerful tool for reaching younger voters. Politicians don't want to choose between looking tough and using a technology that - they clearly believe - can help them win elections.
Trump not only eventually joined TikTok... A few months ago, he promised to "save TikTok in America" if elected.
Maybe the funniest take comes from Vivek Ramaswamy, who "flip-flopped on TikTok when he ran his own presidential campaign in 2023. In between two Iowa campaign stops, Ramaswamy went from calling TikTok “digital fentanyl” to joining it at the advice of Jake Paul, the controversial boxer and YouTube star."
And I don't actually fault people for being pragmatic or utilitarian, or for changing their mind.
But it's also a slightly bizarre situation when people who have held wrong or questionable stances on many things, and who are among Trump's most controversial cabinet picks (Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard) are the ones making valid arguments in favor of free speech and against private property seizure. The latter would have been widely condemned if a different government pursued it.