Internet shreds Donald Trump for shifting blame towards Joe Biden over potential TikTok ban in US

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Former President Donald Trump wants the nation's youth to blame President Joe Biden for the TikTok divestment ban and remember it on election night.

On Monday, April 22, the 77-year-old MAGA strongman posted on his proprietary social networking platform, Truth Social, “Just so everyone knows, especially the young people, Crooked Joe Biden is responsible for banning TikTok.”

“He is the one pushing it to close, and doing it to help his friends over at Facebook become richer and more dominant, and able to continue to fight, perhaps illegally, the Republican Party,” Trump added.

What prompted Donald Trump to attack Joe Biden over TikTok ban?

On Saturday, April 20, the Republican-led House of Representatives, passed a bill stipulating that ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, should sell its shares of the short-form video hosting app within 270 days, with the possibility of a 90-day extension, per the New York Post.

Failure to do so will result in restrictions being imposed on the app stores and web-hosting services. President Joe Biden has also indicated his willingness to sign the proposal.

Those in support of the proposal have emphasized that it is not an outright “ban” but rather a forced divestment aimed at preventing China from accessing TikTok's vast trove of user data.

Last month, the 2024 presumptive GOP nominee opposed congressional efforts against TikTok. However, as POTUS, Trump had signed an executive order to block the popular video-sharing site which was ultimately blocked by a court.

It was previously reported that GOP megadonor Jeff Yass had personally lobbied Republicans in the House to obstruct efforts against TikTok.

Yass's fund had a stake of approximately $33 billion in ByteDance. Some critics have speculated that Yass may have influenced Trump's change of heart on TikTok.

“It’s called ELECTION INTERFERENCE! Young people, and lots of others, must remember this on November 5th, ELECTION DAY, when they vote!” Trump remarked, adding. “They also must remember, more importantly, that he is destroying our Country, and is A MAJOR THREAT TO DEMOCRACY!”

TikTok boasts of platforming around 170 million users. Recently, a divestment measure was included in a package that featured penalties against Iran and Russia. The measure was passed by a vote of 360-58 in the lower chamber on Saturday.

It is now expected to be merged with three other bills featuring aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan under a parliamentary process known as the MIRV rule and will be voted on in the Senate on Tuesday, April 23.

While TikTok is technically based out of Singapore and Los Angeles, ByteDance’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party have raised concerns among national security experts.

The platform has access to a vast collection of biometric identifiers, browsing history information, location data, and more on millions of US citizens, which it collects as users navigate the platform.

There are apprehensions that China could exploit this information to advance its surveillance efforts within the country.

Leadership on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has warned that Beijing’s laws require that “all organizations and citizens shall support, assist, and cooperate with national intelligence efforts.”

However, TikTok has disputed this and has committed to a $1.5 billion investment in ‘Project Texas’ aimed at moving American data into servers run by Austin-headquartered Oracle.

TikTok CEO Shou Chew emphasized to the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year, “We have not been asked for any data by the Chinese government and we have never provided it.”

Despite TikTok's efforts to push back against Congress and lobby its users to call their representatives, the Senate is still expected to pass the divestment measure.

Internet blasts Donald Trump for shifting blame onto President Joe Biden

One X user remarked, "Wait Wait Wait, What Party "controls" the House right now?"

Another user said, "Such a shame. He has some good mainstream conservative ideas that are worth considering but he is so caught up in his game of retribution and (dis)loyalty, that he just cant be trusted."

Another user wrote, "Sorry, but no. Blame for banning TikTok comes from conservatives."

One user claimed, "TRUMP, 2020: I hereby sign an executive order banning TikTok in 45 days if it isn't sold, given threat posed by China. (The order gets blocked in court.) TRUMP, 2024: "Just so everyone knows, especially the young people, Crooked Joe Biden is responsible for banning TikTok.""

Another X user quipped, "A bill written by house republicans? But blame Biden? He knows his followers ain’t the smartest."

A user tweeted, "How much did it cost to get him to change his mind? A "president" who can be bought cheaply will certainly make America great again. Every $5 a time."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.