TikTok will be the main sponsor of the inauguration party of the US President-elect Donald Trump. The company will spend $50 000.
Politico writes about this with reference to the organizers of the event.
TikTok is the main sponsor of Sundayʼs event, with sponsorship contributions ranging from $10 000 to $50 000, with other sponsors including Kalshi, which the day before appointed Donald Trump Jr. as its strategic advisor, and the American Conservation Coalition.
Trump decided to hold his inauguration party in honor of the influencers who helped him spread his campaign messages.
The party, officially called the Power 30 Awards, will take place in downtown Washington, D.C. It will also feature Trump campaign adviser Alex Brusewitz, who will deliver the keynote address, and conservative influencers like Bryce Hall and Rogan OʼHandley.
The event is planned for Sunday, January 19th, the day TikTok is set to be officially banned in the US. Trumpʼs inauguration will take place the following day, January 20th.
Axios, citing sources, wrote that TikTok CEO Shaw Ji Chu will attend Trumpʼs inauguration.
TikTok ban in the US
The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill in March 2024 that could ban the social network TikTok in the US. The bill was supported by the US Senate in April, and President Joe Biden signed the bill into law that same month.
The law is set to take effect on January 19, 2025, with the possibility of a one-time 90-day delay granted by the president if the sale of the social network is not completed by then.
The US lawmakers say TikTok poses a national security threat because the Chinese government could force ByteDance to hand over US usersʼ data. The bill would require US-based TikTok to divest itself of its Chinese owner, ByteDance, or face a ban.
The US President-elect Donald Trump tried to ban TikTok during his first term, but changed his position during this yearʼs presidential campaign and promised to "save" the app.
He explained this by wanting to maintain “competition” with Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, which he criticized for allegedly censoring right-wing voices. On January 7, the latter said that Meta would work with President-elect Donald Trump “to confront governments around the world that are harassing American companies and increasing censorship”. On the same day, he announced that political content would return to Facebook and Instagram, and that Meta would abandon fact-checking and switch to a Community Notes model.
According to Bloomberg, China is considering selling its American unit TikTok to Elon Musk. However, ByteDance representatives called the Bloomberg report “pure fiction”.
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