Trump says TikTok is national security threat — but banning it would empower ‘enemy of the people’ Facebook

Former President Donald Trump acknowledged Monday that he thinks Chinese-owned social media app TikTok is a national security threat, but argued that banning it would further empower Facebook — which he called an “enemy of the people.”

“I do believe that,” Trump, 77, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in response to a question about him previously deeming TikTok a national security threat.

“I do believe it and we very much have to go into privacy and make sure that we are protecting the American people’s privacy and data rights,” the presumptive Republican nominee added. “But, you know, we also have that problem with other — you have that problem with Facebook and lots of other companies too.”

Trump then said banning TikTok is a “tough decision to make,” and that the absence of the popular app could only help Facebook.