Trump Takes Office, Where Does TikTok Go From?

With Trump’s election, various forces around the world will face a reshuffle.
As the saying goes, some families are happy while others are sad.

Suharto Trump’s Musk is proud and guiding the country, leading the US government’s Efficiency Department; In the past four years, the suppressed conservative forces will gradually return.
The Democratic Party, which was determined to win, suffered a complete defeat. Not only did the swing states turn red, but the balance of power among the three powers was also lost: executive power (President, White House), legislative power (Senate, House of Representatives), and judicial power (Supreme Court), all of which belonged to the Trump Organization.
Seeing this scene, not only many old faces or low-key political forces around the world began to appear, but also the Internet began to revel. Various creations aimed at Trump emerged in endlessly, especially for the domestic We Media, as if Trump’s coming to power was a huge benefit.
For example, some argue that political party rotation can lead to policy incoherence, and that Trump’s rise to power will inevitably prioritize domestic stability, cleaning up the influence of the Democratic Party’s governance and providing China with rare relief from changes;
For example, some people say that the Trump Organization may cool down the Russia Ukraine war, shake hands with Putin to make peace, and then add support for Israel in the Middle East, indirectly easing the geopolitical pressure around China;
For example, it may be said that Trump will pursue isolationism, and at the global level, Trump will shrink the power of the United States and focus more on domestic construction. This contraction can greatly alleviate the external pressure faced by China;
Furthermore, starting from Trump’s personal perspective, it is emphasized that he is more accustomed to confronting each other head-on rather than making small gestures, and is more accustomed to punching and punching on the table (direct trade wars) rather than making small gestures (public opinion wars, ideological dominance). This will actually make the domestic public opinion field clearer and the domestic atmosphere more united.
Trump’s inauguration is essentially more of a ‘transformation’ than a ‘good news’. A change that will overturn the old order is about to occur, and in this change, we seek new vitality.
But optimism can be strategic, but it must be taken seriously tactically no matter what. Once it comes down to specific things, it’s hard bones that need to be gnawed on one after another.
For example, TikTok, which was suppressed during Biden’s tenure, still faces the huge risk of being banned if not sold.

The struggle is far from over, it has just begun.
Many people believe that Trump’s inauguration is also a positive for TikTok.
According to media reports, Trump has repeatedly stated this year that if elected president, he will not ban TikTok. So it was concluded that after Trump’s victory, he would fulfill his promise and lift the ban on TikTok.
But the actual situation is much more complex than that.
Firstly, in terms of the program, the process of banning TikTok is set very meticulously and with great care.
The bill passed by Congress this year is far from comparable to Trump’s 2020 executive order. Executive orders are easy to revoke, but overturning the bill is extremely troublesome.
Some people may ask, is it difficult to overthrow Trump’s “three powers” in his hands?
It’s just difficult.
As a law passed by Congress and signed into effect by the President, the ‘Do Not Sell, Ban’ Act has absolute legal effect. Even if Trump, as the new president, wants to overturn it, he needs to go through a series of complex legislative procedures, and finally pass through both houses of Congress before it can be abolished.
The process is complicated, and the effective date of the bill is extremely tricky.
The effective date of the bill is set for January 19, 2025, which is the day before Trump takes office. If the US court does not issue a ruling favorable to TikTok, even the new president will find it difficult to halt this law.
Boil cooked rice directly from raw rice.
Even if Trump intends to lift the ban, how high is the priority of this task?
Even worse, perhaps Trump has no intention of lifting the ban.
This is the second complex situation: as the top decision maker on the surface, Trump’s frequent changes do not guarantee the fulfillment of promises.
The most obvious fact is that in 2020, Trump issued two executive orders to ban TikTok. But during the 2024 presidential election, in order to win votes, he repeatedly changed his stance and stated that he “does not support banning TikTok”.

Politicians serve the vote, and policies are based on what is beneficial to the election. Politicians also serve interest groups, whoever bets will receive rewards.
During his first term, Trump criticized cryptocurrency. During this year’s campaign, he changed his stance after accepting donations from cryptocurrency tycoons, promising to make the United States the “global capital of cryptocurrencies”.
The world is bustling with prosperity, all for the sake of profit; All the chaos in the world is driven by profit.
Why should he keep his promise for something that is not beneficial?
Moreover, anti China has become an anchor point for various interests in the United States.
And this is the third complex situation: in deep waters, the bureaucratic class and deep government behind it have already reached a consensus on anti China.
TikTok’s “ban if you don’t sell” bill initially received overwhelming support from both parties. There is no disagreement, only consensus.
Even if we don’t talk about the past, looking at the future is still bleak and gloomy.
After winning the election, Trump nominated several politicians who have long been anti China and demanded the ban of TikTok, such as Rubio and Waltz, as candidates for positions such as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor in the new administration.
These politicians view TikTok as a formidable threat to US national security, how could they easily let TikTok go?
Take the possible future Secretary of State Rubio as an example. In 2022 and 2023, Rubio twice attempted to push the Anti China Social Media Act in the Senate to ban TikTok from operating in the United States.
In November 2023, as the Israeli Palestinian conflict intensified, he once again called for the closure of TikTok, citing that TikTok had “downplayed the terrorist nature of Hamas” in its content.
Trump is no longer a political novice, he has learned to compromise and cooperate. No one can guarantee whether Trump will insist on overturning the ban after encountering political pressure.
Therefore, in terms of results, once the ban law is passed, service providers such as Apple and Google will have to enforce the ban.
Bloomberg stated that although Trump could theoretically instruct the Department of Justice not to enforce the law or selectively enforce it, this move could put American technology companies in a dangerous position.
This is a straightforward truth, no American service provider would risk huge fines and illegal risks to promote TikTok.
From this, it can be seen that the future of TikTok remains a huge unknown even after Trump takes office.

But true strong people never expect charity from others, they only rely on themselves to forge a path.
In the Book of Changes, it is said that the heavens are strong, and a gentleman should strive for self-improvement. Tianxing Health means taking a proactive attitude towards any pressure, difficulty, or risk.
Only TikTok itself can save TikTok.
Faced with injustice, Tiktok must also uphold procedural justice, persist in suing the US government, strive to win lawsuits, and resolutely safeguard its own interests.
Although the future is uncertain, we will eventually bravely move forward.

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