TIKTOK ON THE CLOCK
Most Americans don’t want the U.S. to ban TikTok — so much so that many are learning Mandarin to enjoy a similar app. So, yes, Donald Trump stands to gain a lot by keeping TikTok from going dark.
- Seventy-two hours. That’s the amount of time that more than 100 million users in the United States may have left to watch Jools Lebron’s musings from her car, Harry Daniels sing to unsuspecting celebrities, William cook elaborate meals for Levi, the Costco guys say “BOOM,” and all the other TikTok trends that have permeated American culture (for better or worse). The Supreme Court seems likely to uphold a ban on the Chinese-owned app, or force it to sell to a different owner, because of national security concerns. TikTok is reportedly planning to shut down the app’s U.S. site on Sunday. Maybe this will be a nationwide sabbath for our attention spans?
- Enter President-elect Donald Trump, who credits TikTok with bolstering his campaign — and his famous “Trump Dance.” He’s brainstorming ways to save the app, including issuing an executive order that would delay TikTok’s ban or sale for a couple months, according to the Washington Post. In theory, that would give him time to negotiate a deal or an alternative to save the app. It’s still unclear whether he could legally do that. But ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, reportedly hopes to retain ownership long enough to let him try.
- Trump wants to be seen as the savior of TikTok, scoring an early win in his presidency and delivering on a campaign promise (after trying to ban it years ago). It would likely play well among the public: Only 32 percent of Americans support banning the app. Democratic and Republicans in Congress, on the other hand, overwhelmingly support shutting TikTok down if it’s not sold. That doesn’t matter to Trumpworld: “We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark,” Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), Trump’s national security adviser, told Fox News today. “It’s been a great platform for him and his campaign to get his America First message out.”
- Trump trying to save TikTok is a prime example of him “reclaiming populism” for the Republican party, a Democratic strategist told What A Day. Sure, Trump may want to give the people what they want, but he isn’t known to be a free speech warrior. “He has no issue defending free speech when it may benefit him,” the strategist said. One young TikTok user said that her feelings about the situation are complicated: “I mean I hate him, and TikTok is an outlet for me to hate him, so I’m glad he isn’t banning TikTok,” she told What A Day. (That’s not to say that TikTok is a bastion of left-wing free speech, because it’s also an app where right-wing misinformation proliferates.)
- Trump is already solidifying his influence over most popular social media platforms in America, as well as the tech world. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is planning to attend Trump’s inauguration next week, along with Mark Zuckerberg (who owns Meta) and Elon Musk (who owns X). Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai are also on the guest list. What’s more, Zuckerberg is throwing a Trump inauguration party, and Trump and Musk recently dined with the Microsoft CEO at Mar-a-Lago. While Bezos doesn’t own the major social media platforms, he does own Goodreads, which is my personal favorite social media in these dark times. If he lets MAGA take over the book world I swear to god…
Like Thanos in “Avengers: Infinity War,” it feels like Trump is collecting infinity stones (bootlicking tech CEOs) to gain unprecedented power over social media in America. If Trump can save TikTok, that’s yet another stone in his gauntlet.
WHAT’S THE DEAL?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed a vote to approve the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, accusing Hamas of “reneging” on parts of the deal. Hamas, however, said that it agrees to the deal that was laid out yesterday.
Negotiators are still meeting to nail down the specifics, like how many hostages and prisoners will be released, the Washington Post reports. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters today that he still expects the ceasefire to begin on Sunday.
Israel’s cabinet will meet again on Friday, the Financial Times reports, as Netanyahu faces pressure from far-right allies who have been opposed to any ceasefire deal.
“There are mixed feelings in Israel,” Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, deputy mayor of Jerusalem and a member of Netanyahu’s right-wing party, told What A Day. She cited “the Israeli Sophie’s choice” of trying to get as many hostages out, while having to tell some families that their loved ones won’t be coming home soon. Much of the Israeli public would likely be angry if a deal fell through and hostages weren’t returned.
Hassan-Nahoum added: “A major ethos in Israel is that no man is left behind.”
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NEWS NEWS NEWS
Firefighters in Los Angeles are making progress in tackling the massive wildfires, which have burned thousands of acres, killed at least 25 people, and displaced at least 100,000 others. Winds are expected to ease over the coming days, but they could pick up again next week, according to forecasters.
Donald Trump pledged to help Los Angeles rebuild from the wildfires in time to hold the 2028 Olympic games. Given his past hesitation to give California disaster relief, it’s not surprising that the only thing it took to change his mind was the prospect of a series of televised events.
Trump named actors Jon Voight, Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone as his special envoys to, uh, Hollywood. Their goal will be to revitalize the filmmaking capital of America, Trump said, which “has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries.” Good thing he picked three of the freshest, most stable actors for the job.
Trump crony Rudy Giuliani reached a settlement with two Georgia election workers he defamed that allows him to keep his Manhattan penthouse and valuables. Giuliani agreed to pay the workers an undisclosed amount of money and promised not to defame them again. I hate that he’s allowed to keep whipping around in Lauren Bacall’s Mercedes-Benz.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) chose Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to fill the seat that’ll be vacated by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) if he’s confirmed to be Trump’s secretary of state, which is very likely. Take a moment to breathe a sigh of relief that it’s not Matt Gaetz, though, of course, we can never be fully sure we’re free of him.
Axios compiled a list of the biggest U.S. companies that have rolled back their diversity, equity and inclusion programs ahead of Trump’s inauguration. Nice to have a list of Corporate Cowards all in one place!
Beloved filmmaker David Lynch died today at 78 years old. He’ll be remembered as one of the most iconic figures in Hollywood for decades, with projects including “Twin Peaks,” “Blue Velvet,” “Eraserhead” and “Mulholland Drive.” As the Log Lady once said in “Twin Peaks”: “One day the sadness will end.
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