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| The TikTok conversation turned into a feud between Trump's advisers |
The Washington Post reported that the debate late last week about banning Tiktork in the Oval Office turned into a hostility between Trump's advisor to the president and several of his aides, but the Treasury secretary eventually won the president and convinced Microsoft to use Chinese apps it should buy.
Trade advisor Peter Navarro accused Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin of tolerating China because Navarro called for an outright ban on video-sharing apps from China and Nnuchin discussed selling Tik Tok to a US company.
One of the Trump administration's greatest strengths is that the president relies on strong and often conflicting opinions to make decisions that are always in the best interest of the American people, Navarro told the newspaper in a statement.
When asked about the dispute, he said: What happened in the Oval Office must remain in the Oval Office so that I will not comment on harmful leaks full of noise and misinformation.
President Trump signed an executive order on September 20 banning all transactions with ByteDance, the TikTok app said the executive order did not comply with the law and the executive order was issued without due process.
The app was reportedly preparing to take legal action early Tuesday to challenge the decree.
It's unclear how Trump's executive order will affect the ability to sell TikTok to Microsoft.
Microsoft stated on a blog that its CEO has had a conversation with President Trump and is ready to continue discussions to discuss buying Tik Tok in the US.
This is the first report the company has confirmed that it is negotiating the acquisition of TikTok.
In the article, Microsoft said, "We know the importance of addressing the president's concerns and we are determined to put TikTok through a comprehensive security review and provide reasonable economic benefits to the United States (including the US Treasury)."
The company added that it plans to take swift action within a few weeks to discuss with parent company ByteDance. These talks will be completed by September 15, 2020.
The US government threatened to ban the use of the video-sharing app for several weeks, and Secretary of State (Mike Pompeo) said in July that the ban was something we expected, but Vanessa Pappas, TikTok US executive director, said in a July 1 video. . August: We have no plans to go anywhere and the company has been here for a long time.
The presidential decree claimed that apps developed by China (such as TikTok) threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.
He used the International Economic Emergency Act and the National Emergency Law to give him the power to issue executive orders, an unusual move for the White House.
According to the New York Times report, the CIA's assessment found no evidence that Chinese intelligence agencies were using TikTok to access US user data.