After previously attempting to ban the platform over national security concerns, Trump now describes having a “warm spot” for TikTok, citing its role in mobilizing young voters during his successful 2024 presidential campaign. This comes as the Supreme Court is preparing to hear expedited oral arguments on Jan. 10, nine days before the company must sell off to U.S. buyers or face bans on mainstream app stores.

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GOP pushback on Trump’s TikTok leniency

Many outspoken figures in the Republican Party see TikTok’s connections to the Chinese Communist Party as a threat to U.S. national security, with opposition to Trump’s leniency gaining momentum ahead of his January 20 inauguration.

Conservative leaders have intensified efforts to ban the platform, while other critics frame Trump’s openness to save TikTok as a betrayal of MAGA values.

Twenty-two state attorneys general filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold a federal law requiring TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. operations. Republican Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares took to social media to emphasize the platform’s risks.

“SCOTUS should affirm Congress’s authority to safeguard Americans’ privacy and security from foreign threats,” Miyares wrote on X.

Former Vice President Mike Pence and his advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, echoed these sentiments in an amicus brief exclusively reported by the Washington Examiner last week.

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Now is not the time to pause a ban/divestment of Tik Tok. Tik Tok is funneling intelligence and leverage to the CCP. AAF is proud to file an amicus brief urging the SCOTUS to uphold the law.

Read the brief below. https://t.co/8yD9HFt01L

— Tim Chapman (@TimChapman) December 28, 2024

AAF President Tim Chapman contends that leniency toward TikTok undermines U.S. security.

“Now is not the time to pause a ban/divestment of Tik Tok. TikTok is funneling intelligence and leverage to the CCP,” Chapman posted to X.

Supreme Court showdown

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Jan. 10, just days before Trump’s inauguration.

The case centers in part on a looming Jan. 19 deadline requiring TikTok’s divestiture, but the question at issue is whether the recently passed law infringes on the First Amendment rights of the roughly 170 million users on the platform.

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On Friday, Trump requested a stay on the deadline, signaling his desire to resolve the dispute politically after he assumes office.

If TikTok somehow survived the bipartisan ban from Congress, signed by Trump’s former political adversary President Joe Biden, some critics warn that the move could embolden the CCP’s influence in the U.S., both through national security weaknesses and by spreading propaganda through its messaging to millions of users on the app.

Broader implications for Trump’s relationships with Big ‘Tech Bros’

The TikTok dispute mirrors another more recent rift over H-1B visas that began during Christmas on Elon Musk’s platform, X.

Trump, who previously criticized the visa program as harmful to American workers, recently sided with the Tesla CEO’s more pro-H-1B stance, which some day-one MAGA supporters decried as Trump picking “Tech Bros” over his dedicated base.

Critics argue the reversal reflects a broader trend of Trump favoring tech industry interests over traditional conservative priorities.

Trump’s leniency toward TikTok has left some Republicans questioning whether his priorities align with national security concerns. For now, the debate underscores deepening tensions over the future of tech policy within the GOP — and whether Trump’s evolving positions will alienate his most ardent supporters.