Months ago, President-elect Trump vaguely suggested that those who “love TikTok” should vote for him, raising hopes among users of the video-sharing app that he could thwart a ban soon to take effect.

“We’re not doing anything with TikTok, but the other side is going to shut it down, so if you like TikTok, get out and vote for Trump,” Trump said in a September message. after about his Truth Social service.

He has made no specific promises to overturn the threatened ban, but his team says he will “deliver” on it.

“The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin, giving him a mandate to fulfill the promises he made during the campaign,” said Karoline Leavitt, spokeswoman for Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance’s transition team , in a speech. statement.

Working to undo a ban, which was supposed to take effect in January, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden, would mark a 180-degree turnaround from 2020, when Trump tried to ban the app block or force its sale in the US.

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(Months ago, President-elect Trump vaguely suggested that those who “love TikTok” should vote for him, raising hopes among users of the video-sharing app that he could thwart a ban soon to take effect .)

Then in April this year, Biden signed a similar measure that gave TikTok’s parent company ByteDance until January 19, 2025 – the day before the inauguration – to sell it or risk a US ban.

“He appreciates the scope and reach of TikTok, which he used masterfully along with podcasts and media newcomers to win,” Kellyanne Conway, an adviser close to Trump who now advocates for TikTok, told The Washington Post.

“There are many ways to hold China accountable short of alienating 180 million American users per month. Trump recognized early on that Democrats are the party of bans — gas cars, menthol cigarettes, vapes, plastic straws and TikTok — and to let them own that draconian, anti-personal choice space.”

Trump’s White House could pressure the Republican-led Congress to overturn the TikTok ban. Or the Justice Department could adopt a policy of loose enforcement of the law.

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TikTok is currently fighting in court to overturn the law, arguing it is unconstitutional.

The law also allows the president to extend the divestment deadline by 90 days if the government sees “significant progress” toward a sale.

The law is enforced by ordering app stores like Apple and Google to stop offering TikTok on their platforms or face a fine.

When it comes to Big Tech, Trump has focused much of his ire on TikTok’s rival, Meta, formerly Facebook. In an interview with CNBC in March, Trump said the owner of Facebook and Instagram poses a much bigger threat, labeling Meta an “enemy of the people.”

“Facebook has been very bad for our country, especially when it comes to elections,” he said.

“We’re not doing anything with TikTok, but the other side is going to shut it down, so if you like TikTok, get out and vote for Trump,” Trump said in a September post on his Truth Social service. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Trump’s secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has called for a ban on TikTok in the US. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

But since then, Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has made a number of complimentary statements about Trump.

“Congratulations to President Trump on a decisive victory. We have great opportunities ahead of us as a country. I look forward to working with you and your government,” the tech mogul said after Trump’s victory.

Trump himself has more than 14 million followers on TikTok. “For everyone who wants to save TikTok in America: vote for Trump. The other side is closing things down, but I’m a big star on TikTok now,” he declared in September.

But back on Capitol Hill, TikTok’s national security threat is a top concern for lawmakers of both parties — 197 Republicans and 155 Democrats voted in favor of the bill to force ByteDance to divest. They fear its Chinese parent company could collect data on U.S. citizens and manipulate content that users say is against U.S. interests, accusations TikTok denies.

But Trump’s Cabinet picks are largely China hawks who have supported the ban. His appointed national security adviser, Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., voted in favor. His pick for secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said TikTok gives the Chinese government “a unique ability to monitor American teens” and that “we must ban this potential spyware before it is too late.”

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Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, was the first governor to ban TikTok on government devices.

Public support for a TikTok ban has waned in the US, with only 32% of Americans in favor of it, a Pew Research poll found in September.