Kevin McCarthy: Trump Administration Was Right, TikTok Must Be U.S.-Owned

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said on CNBC Tuesday that the Trump administration was right to give Chinese-owned TikTok an ultimatum: sell to an American company or be banned.

McCarthy went on CNBC’s Squawk Box to discuss the security risks of Communist Chinese government-tied TikTok, which is owned by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. The Speaker said the Trump administration “had it right, when TikTok should have been sold” to an American company. He explained how, as policymakers, Congress has an obligation to protect the American public. 

Co-anchor Joe Kernen began by noting that banning TikTok has a growing bipartisan consensus (even from the previously pro-TikTok Biden administration), but some Democrats are claiming that banning TikTok would permanently alienate young voters due to the app’s popularity. “Do you think it should be banned? Is that politically palatable to both sides now?” Kernen questioned.

The focus should be on the security risks of TikTok, McCarthy explained. “If a 150 million Americans knew that their data was being used by the Communist Party of China [CPC/CCP], would they be concerned about using it? Do we have a responsibility as policymakers?” he asked.