President Biden's ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, harshly criticized President-elect Trump's reversal of his position on TikTok, saying that as long as the app remains under the control of companies based in China, it still poses a danger to Americans. said.
“Listen, as a former ballet dancer, I'm amazed at the flexibility of these people who just three years ago, four years ago, just like President Trump, announced that TikTok is a danger to America. He received a donation from one of the American investors in TikTok and its parent company, and all of a sudden they started to realize the benefits of TikTok here in the United States,” Emanuel, a longtime Democratic politician, told CNN on Sunday. said in an interview. State of the Union. ”
“Look, China continues to follow Americans and collect data,” he continued. “There is a reason why the US is removing Chinese cranes from our ports. Because the US is collecting data. Will you do that?”
President Trump on Sunday said he would issue an executive order that would postpone the ban on TikTok and give China-based parent company ByteDance time to exit the platform, but if it wants to avoid a U.S. ban, the company must now Popular video sharing app you need to do this by the end of the week.
Amid concerns about ByteDance's ties to China, Congress passed a bipartisan bill last spring to ban the app, with the president also giving the president a 90-day extension if progress is made toward a sale.
“I implore companies to not leave TikTok in the dark!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday morning. “I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the time period until the law's ban goes into effect so we can reach a deal to keep our country safe.”
President Trump said the order would shield companies that “helped TikTok go bankrupt” from liability.
During President Trump's first term, he attempted to ban TikTok through an executive order, but was ultimately blocked by the courts. He reversed course last year when Congress was considering a divestment or ban bill. Notably, the change came after President Trump met with Jeff Yass, a major Republican donor and investor in TikTok, but the president-elect said they did not discuss the app.
“I understand that President Trump took the donations, but please don’t touch our children. It’s that simple. It’s either we protect our children or China protects our children. You either have access to information, and your principles shouldn't change because of a donor's gift,” Emanuel said in an interview.
“I've been in Washington a long time, and people are very opinionated. It's their principle to be flexible,” he said. “That's not acceptable.”
