A few years ago, millions of young people around the world were struck by a mysterious illness. situation It involves the nervous system but is not associated with any known infectious agents.symptoms It contains Tourette-like involuntary repetitive body movements and vocalizations. In one minute he may occur 29 times. Although it is considered a by-product of the need to express the anxiety, suffering and depression brought on by the pandemic; disability was widespread Through videos posted on social media and frequently calmed down When those affected are no longer able to contact each other online. Clinicians have dubbed this phenomenon the “TikTok tic.”
This month, Donald Trump showed off his TikTok tics, which seem to reflect personality traits and personality traits that he doesn’t want or can’t change.
In 2020, when President Trump blamed China for the coronavirus pandemic and engaged in a tariff war with China, he issued the following statement: presidential order, under “emergency powers” to ban TikTok if parent company ByteDance doesn’t sell the app within 45 days. President Trump said TikTok’s monthly collection of data on 150 million American users “could potentially give the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information.” “allows China to track the location and document the personal information of federal employees and contractors.” Extortion and corporate espionage. ” President Trump: “The risks are real.” Added“The United States will get this right.”
But after ByteDance began negotiating a sale to Oracle and Walmart to circumvent the ban, and the executive order was challenged in court, President Trump invoked the ban. possession.
In 2022, the Biden administration banned the use of TikTok on devices issued to federal employees and military personnel. However, despite concerns that a general ban would violate the First Amendment, bipartisan support grew in Congress. Rep. Elise Stefanik (RN.Y.), who looks a lot like Trump claimed TikTok is “communist Chinese malware that is poisoning the minds of our next generation and giving the Chinese Communist Party unfettered access to a treasure trove of Americans’ data.”
Nevertheless, on the eve of a House vote on a bill to force China to divest from TikTok, which would have passed 352-65, President Trump overturned it.
former president Admitted He said TikTok poses a threat to national security and “we must firmly recognize that we are protecting the privacy and data rights of the American people.” But Trump ignored this danger in his eagerness to appeal to young voters (the one-third of Americans under 30). get their news from TikTok) and settle scores with your opponents.
Many young children, Trump. predicted“I’d go crazy without it.” Most importantly, President Trump complained that Facebook shut down his activities. account The day after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, he was accused of violating rules against inciting violence, calling him an “enemy of the people.” And Mark Zuckerberg “spent $500,000 on me and the great Republican Party.” President Trump doesn’t want Facebook and “Zuckerschmuck” (a term coined from Yiddish slang for penis). election” has improved its business performance by acquiring TikTok users. (Fact check: Mr. Zuckerberg donated $400,000 to the Center for Technology and Civic Life and the Center for Election Innovation and Research to support state and local efforts to promote mail-in voting during the pandemic).
President Trump’s TikTok tics (repetition, self-absorption, incoherence, and indifference to truth) were also evident in his writing. recent interviews With Andrew Ross Sorkin on CNBC. Here’s why he supported the ban before opposing it.
“We got it done. And Congress said, they never fail, they usually fail in the end, you know, they’re idiots – probably very political and called lobbyists. Very subordinate to people, they happen to be very, very talented, very good and very rich. They could have banned TikTok. Because it just got banned. , they could have done that. But I said, you know what? But I’ll leave it to you. I didn’t push them too much because they had to create their own Because we let them do R&D and they decided not to do it. But you know, I was at a stage where I could do it if I wanted to. I said, “It’s a difficult decision, you make it.” said.”
President Trump’s TikTok tics suggest that an 11,000-square-foot apartment in Trump Tower, Mar-a-Lago, or even less-capacity government-provided accommodation, would be more appropriate for President Trump than the White House. It shows a convincing reason why it is a suitable residence. Isn’t that so?
Glenn C. Altshuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor Emeritus of American History at Cornell University.
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