Republicans Insist You Have to Take Trump’s TikTok Stance Seriously but Not Literally

“Some people take seriously things that he said in jest,” Sen. James Lankford told NOTUS.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., the lead GOP negotiator on the Senate border and foreign aid package.

Sen. James Lankford the lead GOP negotiator on the Senate border and foreign aid package. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

When President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to keep TikTok operating in the U.S. for another 75 days, he explained to reporters in the Oval Office that he wasn’t terribly concerned about Chinese intelligence efforts or influence operations with the app.

“Remember, TikTok is largely about kids — young kids,” Trump said. “If China is gonna get information about young kids, I don’t know. I think, to be honest, I think we have bigger problems than that.”

“TikTok,” Trump concluded, “is not their biggest problem.”