President-elect Donald Trump has formally requested the Supreme Court to postpone the implementation of a law that could potentially ban TikTok until after his inauguration. In an amicus brief, Trump’s attorney, D. John Sauer, stated that the future president seeks the opportunity to address the issue “through political means.”
The law, which mandates either a ban or the sale of TikTok, is scheduled to take effect on January 19, 2025, just one day before Trump’s inauguration. The brief describes the timing of the ban as “unfortunately timed” and argues that the incoming president should be granted additional time to negotiate a deal with TikTok. TikTok’s legal team has echoed similar concerns in their own requests for a delay of the ban. The brief also highlights Trump’s extensive “dealmaking” experience and his involvement with his social media platform, Truth Social.
“President Trump alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns expressed by the Government—concerns which President Trump himself has acknowledged,” Sauer wrote.
Trump’s current stance on TikTok marks a significant departure from his position during his first term, when he actively pursued a ban of the app in 2020. At that time, he also suggested that Microsoft could “work out a deal, an appropriate deal, so the Treasury of the United States gets a lot of money,” although he did not provide specific details on how such a deal would be structured.
During his second campaign, President Trump reversed his opinion on a TikTok ban. In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box in March, he stated that banning TikTok would “make Facebook bigger and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people, along with a lot of the media.” The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments regarding the TikTok ban on January 10.
