TikTok executives schmoozed US business leaders at Trump inauguration as app’s future in balance, report says
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President has said he’ll issue executive order halting TikTok ban, despite it being signed into law and surviving challenge at Supreme Court. Tiktok executives including CEO Shou Chew and vice president Michael Beckerman were reportedly on hand at the event, which President Donald and First Lady Melania Trump hosted at the National Building Museum in Washington. They joined a reported guestlist including Vice President JD Vance, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and conservative megadonor Miriam Adelson.
![[TikTok credited Trump – who once tried to ban the app – with saving it]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/19/20/tiktok-grab.jpg)
The Independent has contacted the Trump transition team and TikTok for comment. The full-court press from TikTok comes as the wildly popular app’s future in the U.S. is uncertain. On Saturday, the app went offline in the U.S., a day before a law banning TikTok unless it found new owners for its U.S. operations was set to take effect.
![[The Trump campaign drew influential support from the tech world, including a high-profile alliance with Elon Musk and millions in donations from tech executives to the inaugural fund]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/20/20/TRUMP-INVESTIDURA-MULTIMILLONARIOS_64283.jpg)
“Welcome back! Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!” read a message to the app’s newly reinstated U.S. users. Nonetheless, despite the temporary respite for TikTok, numerous users are flocking to rival apps like Rednote in anticipation of a permanent ban in the U.S.
The uncertainty around TikTok is the latest bizarre chapter in its relationship with Donald Trump, who tried to force a U.S. sale in 2020 via executive order, was denied in court, then pledged his support for the app in the 2024 election once it helped boost his campaign with young voters.
