President-elect Trump told NBC News on Saturday that he is likely to give TikTok a 90-day extension while his incoming administration assesses the situation following the Supreme Court decision to uphold a federal ban.
“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,” Trump said in a call with “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker. “It’s a very big situation.”
He said he will “probably” announce a decision on Monday, when he is sworn into office for a second term in the White House.
A 90-day extension is allowed as part of bipartisan bill passed by Congress last April, which gave TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance 270 days to divest from the app or face a ban from U.S. app stores.
TikTok warned in a statement that it will “go dark” on Sunday unless President Biden steps in. But, the White House called that statement a “stunt,” arguing the app doesn’t have to take action before Trump is sworn in.
“We have seen the most recent statement from TikTok,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wrote in a statement Saturday. “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.”
The president-elect on Friday said he would weigh the future of the app once he’s officially in office. And, the White House had said at the time that the TikTok ban will fall to the Trump administration.
Leave a Reply