Donald Trump said TikTok would close unless it was sold. In 2024 he said he had a “warm spot” for it, and on day one he paused the ban law.
- 3 AUG 2020SAID
- 16 DEC 2024≠ SAID
- 20 JAN 2025SIGNED
≠ What he said in 2020 and what he said and did in 2024–25 point in different directions
1 · SAID · 3 AUG 2020
“So it will close down on September 15th, unless Microsoft or somebody else is able to buy it and work out a deal, an appropriate deal.”
White House remarks. Earlier in the same remarks: it “can't be controlled for security reasons by China, too big, too invasive.”
2 · ≠ SAID · 16 DEC 2024
“You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points.”
Mar-a-Lago press conference, asked how he planned to stop the ban.
3 · SIGNED · 20 JAN 2025
| Order | Executive Order 14166 |
|---|---|
| Text | “I hereby order the Attorney General not to take any action on behalf of the United States to enforce the Act for 75 days” |
| The Act | Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (2024) |
| Outcome | Jan 2026: TikTok's U.S. business moved to a new joint venture; ByteDance kept 19.9% |
DID THEY EXPLAIN? YES
In the said quote above (2 · 16 DEC 2024).
HOW WE CHECKED THIS
Quotes were transcribed from the original videos and cut at sentence boundaries. The executive order was read in the Federal Register on 21 Oct 2026. The 2020 position was ban-or-sell, and a sale did happen in January 2026. Spot an error? Tell us, and we’ll correct it in public.