Why is a deal with China on TikTok’s US assets so important to Trump?

Millions of American TikTok users will be relieved to learn that China has agreed to approve a deal regarding the social media platform’s future.

Congress passed a bill last year that would have prohibited the short video app’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, from operating in the US because US politicians were concerned about TikTok’s threat to national security and its propaganda.

However, Trump had already discussed the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a call on Friday and had already extended the deadline by which ByteDance was required to leave the platform or face the promised ban.

Why does Trump care so much about a deal with this app, then?

Presenter: Tom McRae

Guests:

Richard Weitz, senior associate professor of defense at NATO Defense College.

Einar Tangen, Senior Fellow at the Center for International Governance Innovation, is