- Trump told the press that he has a ‘warm spot’ for the app
- He also said his cabinet would ‘take a look’ at the TikTok ban
- His youngest son Barron persuaded him to do interviews with podcasters
No need to panic anymore because the jury might be out on the looming TikTok ban. And apparently, it’s all thanks to Barron Trump.
You might be thinking, ‘What power does he have to influence the law?’ Well, maybe a lot more than you think. For those who don’t know, Barron Trump is Donald Trump’s youngest son.
Trump Sr previously hinted that his son helped him win with young male voters by changing his campaign efforts, and he might’ve convinced him to overturn the looming TikTok ban.
In summary, the TikTok ban could take effect on January 19 when the law goes into action. Current President Joe Biden signed the law in April after lawmakers proposed it over concerns that the Chinese-made app could threaten U.S. security if user data were handed to the Chinese government. The law requires TikTok’s creator, ByteDance, to sell to a non-Chinese company or face a U.S. ban next year.
As it stands, they haven’t sold the app yet and after losing an appeal against the law, it seems a ban could occur… but not if the youngest Trump has anything to say about it.
What has Trump said about the ban?
Trump pledged to save TikTok in his presidential campaign despite his previous aversion to the app. Could his change of heart have something to do with his son?
When asked recently about his plans to stop the TikTok ban, the President-Elect said he and his cabinet would “take a look at TikTok”.
@dailymail When asked about a potential TikTok ban, Trump said he’ll ‘take a look’ at the issue because he ‘has a warm spot in his heart’ for TikTok. 🎥 Reuters #news #trump #politics #republican #tiktokban ♬ original sound – Daily Mail
He also confessed he has a “warm spot” for the social media app. Although he didn’t elaborate on why he changed his stance, we think Barron influenced him.
What did Trump say about Barron?
On his positive attitude towards the app, Trump said it’s because he “won youth by thirty-four points”. Election data by the Financial Times shows that from 2020 to 2024, the support for Trump in the 18 to 29 age range rose by nearly 20 per cent. That is quite a jump if it’s true. Regarding whether he won the youth vote by that many points, we can’t say.
On his engagement with young voters, Trump also said that “people say TikTok has something to do with it”, which could be true. With many young people consuming their news and content on social media, the apps seem to have a much larger engagement with young people than traditional newspapers and magazines.
Also talking about TikTok, he said that the people who said he won partly because of TikTok were podcasters like Joe Rogan. Rogan has had an influential podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, for many years often interviewing celebrities and big media personalities.
In October before he won the election, Trump was interviewed on Rogan’s podcast to talk about his politics in an all-around interview. Right now, the episode currently has 53 million views on YouTube.
On his decision to engage with media personalities like Rogan, he said: “The other people that were recommended by my son Barron. He knew names, I said, ‘Who is that? Tell me, who is that?’ He said: ‘Dad, you gotta be kidding. I can’t believe you don’t know! And I did those interviews and it was actually sort of cute, if you want to know the truth.”
He summarised saying these factors have made him appreciate the app more. Barron Trump’s recommendation seems to have influenced Trump’s social media decisions and his changing stance on TikTok.
Could Trump overturn the TikTok ban?
Despite his son’s help engaging with male voters, it doesn’t seem like he could help Trump unban Tiktok. Alone Trump could not stop the law. The easiest way, according to experts, would be to repeal the law that asks for the ban.
For this to happen, the repeal would have to pass in both houses of Congress and then be passed to Trump to sign to dismiss the law. However, Congress already voted in favor of the ban, so the odds of them agreeing to overturn the law are…. well, not great.
However, whether the ban goes ahead next month or not, you might have to thank Trump’s youngest son for getting him to reconsider it. Without his help, you might’ve had to kiss your dance videos goodbye forever.
Stay tuned for updates on the TikTok ban saga.
