Why is Donald Trump now defending TikTok in the US, the popular China-tied app he once sought to ban?

Ex-president’s U-turn coincides with recent meeting held with billionaire Republican megadonor who is deeply invested in parent company ByteDance

About-face could hurt presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee who has long touted his toughness on China, analysts say

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Former US president and presumptive 2024 Republican nominee Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:00am, 13 Mar 2024Updated: 11:31pm, 13 Mar 2024

Former US president Donald Trump has markedly changed his tune on TikTok, the popular short-video app that he once sought to ban over concerns about its Chinese ownership.

Throughout his term in the White House and in the run-up to the 2024 US presidential election, the presumptive Republican nominee with a reputation for mercurial moves has repeatedly touted his toughness on Beijing, citing trade tariffs he pushed the US to impose on China that remain in place.

But as legislation that could ban the social-media platform from the US moves at lightning speed through Congress, he has now spoken out against such an action.

Trump’s public U-turn coincides with his recent meeting with a billionaire Republican megadonor deeply invested in ByteDance, the Chinese tech giant that owns TikTok, fuelling speculation among pundits that business interests are driving the former president’s positions on the matter.

Trump has argued of late that if the US were to shut the door on TikTok, competitors like Facebook would reap undue advantage.

“Without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people,” he said in an interview on Monday.