TikTok CEO Invited to Sit in ‘Position of Honor’ at Trump Inauguration

LEFT: Donald Trump (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) RIGHT: Shou Chew (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

TikTok CEO Shou Chew has been invites to sit in a “position of honor” at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20 despite the fact that his company faces an impending, congressionally-imposed ban set to take effect the day before.

From The New York Times:

The chief executive of TikTok plans to attend President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inauguration and has been invited to sit in a position of honor on the dais, where former presidents, family members and other important guests traditionally are seated, two people familiar with the plans said Wednesday.

The invitation to the executive, Shou Chew, went out from the Trump Vance Inaugural Committee, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss Monday’s inauguration. Mr. Chew will join tech moguls like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk at the event; Jeff Bezos has also been invited.

TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, declined to comment.

President Joe Biden signeda bill into law implementing a ban on the social media platform if it is not sold by ByteDance by January 19. Proponents of such a measure argue that TikTok is a tool of the Chinese Government that can be used for both intelligence-gathering and the dissemination of propaganda.

Trump was once in favor of a ban on TikTok, but has changed his tune on the 2024 campaign trail.

“FOR ALL OF THOSE THAT WANT TO SAVE TIK TOK IN AMERICA, VOTE TRUMP!” he declared on Truth Social in September. After his victor in November, Trump met with Chew at Mar-a-Lago and told reporters that he was a “warm spot” in his heart for the app.

Jeff Yass, a billionaire Trump donor, is a major investor in ByteDance. Reporting over the last year suggests that Yass and the president-elect have grown close in recent days, and that Yass may have played a major role in facilitating his flip-flop.