TikTok CEO Hsu Chu is expected to accept an invitation from President-elect Donald Trump to attend his inauguration.
The New York Times reports that Chu will sit front center on stage with other VIP guests and technology executives Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
The Jan. 20 inauguration comes one day after TikTok planned to cease operations in the United States.
President Trump is currently considering an executive order that would suspend enforcement of a law that would require TikTok to divest from Chinese-owned ByteDance, according to the Washington Post. This is said to be to buy time for sale negotiations. Other solutions.
President Trump's defense of TikTok marks a reversal from his position in 2020, when he tried to block the video-sharing app in the United States and force it to sell to American companies.
President Trump says TikTok's fate should be in his own hands when he returns to the White House
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building on the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, on March 23, 2023. The hearing was a rare opportunity for lawmakers to ask questions about the leader in short-form social media video apps, its relationship with Chinese owner ByteDance and its handling of users' sensitive personal data. (Getty Images)
“I have a warm spot for TikTok,” President Trump said last month. The president-elect has more than 14 million followers on the app. He met with company executives at Mar-a-Lago last month.
In a broadly bipartisan fashion, Congress last year passed legislation implementing a no-sale policy, alleging that the Chinese Communist Party uses the app to spy on Americans and spread propaganda, but Byte Dance has long maintained that TikTok is not for sale.
US billionaires such as Elon Musk and Kevin O'Leary are reportedly lining up to make offers for TikTok's US operations.
President Trump sets up meeting with President Putin while communicating with Xi Jinping
The Supreme Court last week considered a challenge to the law, which takes effect on January 19th. Although a ruling has not yet been issued, it is expected that the law will be allowed to go into effect. If the court upholds the law, as a lower court ruled last month, TikTok will not have long to live in the United States.
President Trump could urge Congress to repeal the law or direct the Justice Department not to enforce it. His attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi, declined to say whether she would enforce the ban during her confirmation hearing this week.
Former President Donald Trump headlines the Republican National Committee's Spring Donor Retreat on May 4, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Donald Trump 2024 Campaign)
People take their positions as rehearsals begin on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony, scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Washington. ((AP Photo))
President Trump surprised American foreign policy watchers by inviting President Xi Jinping to his inauguration last month, but Xi is not expected to attend.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Despite chronic hacking by the Chinese, President Trump appears to be taking a diplomatic tone with President Xi Jinping and his government, with Trump threatening to impose tariffs of up to 60% on exports to the United States. It makes them wary of the president's longstanding promises.
“We have a great relationship with China, and I have a great relationship with China,” President Trump told CNBC last month. “We have discussed and discussed several things with President Xi.”
