Former Trump Aide Leads Right-Wing Opposition To TikTok Ban

While conservatives, including former President Donald Trump, have expressed mounting concerns about the social media platform’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party, a growing number of right-wing figures are stopping short of calling for an all-out nationwide ban on TikTok.

As a bill advances through Congress that could, if passed, result in a prohibition on the popular app, one former top aide to the Trump administration is lobbying against such a drastic move.

According to reports, Kellyanne Conway has been tapped by Club for Growth to lobby lawmakers on behalf of TikTok. It is worth noting that Jeffrey Yass, a major donor to the organization, has a 15% stake in the app’s parent company, ByteDance.

In a recent statement, Conway described the current trend toward a “draconian” ban that risked “alienating 170 million monthly U.S. users” as “ill-advised.”

While she acknowledged the national security threat China poses to the U.S., she argued that going after TikTok is the wrong approach.

“If you want to hold China accountable, why are you starting with TikTok and not the origins of the COVID crisis, the fentanyl crisis, the persecution of Uyghurs and the vulnerability of Taiwan?” she asked.

In more practical terms, Conway cited polling that shows nearly half of independent voters — and two-fifths of Republicans — would be less likely to support a candidate who voted in favor of a TikTok ban.

Alex Bruesewitz, a political strategist and Trump supporter, echoed Conway’s electoral concerns.

“I don’t get the rush to do it in the middle of an election year when we are making tremendous progress with Gen Z,” he said of a TikTok crackdown. “MAGA content does very well on TikTok. And Meta is suppressing MAGA content on both Facebook and Instagram.”

Trump himself has experienced an apparent change of heart on the platform he once wanted to see removed from app stores in the U.S. In a recent social media post, he argued that banning TikTok would only benefit other platforms — most notably those owned by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

“If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business,” he asserted. “I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!”