(NewsInsights.org) – Five GOP presidential hopefuls gathered in Miami, Florida, on November 8 for the third presidential primary debate. One candidate, former President Donald Trump, remained notably absent, choosing to hold a campaign rally in nearby Hialeah to compete with the event. During the lively back and forth, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie lashed out at TikTok, leading a chorus of candidates to attack the platform.
On Wednesday night, the moderators asked Christie two related questions. First, they asked whether he agreed with Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) of the House Select Committee on the Communist Chinese Party (CCP) regarding his opinion of TikTok, and second, they asked whether Christie would ban or force the sale of the platform if he became president.
The former Garden State governor replied that he completely agreed with Gallagher. He claimed that TikTok was “not only spyware,” but the app was “intentionally” using its platform to “pollut[e] the minds of American young people” nationwide. He accused China of working through the platform to divide the US with antisemitism and images designed to incite hate.
Christie continued, using TikTok as an example of a Trump administration policy failure. He said the former president could and should have banned TikTok when he was commander-in-chief. The former governor vowed to ban the platform in his first week in office upon becoming president.
However, Trump did try to ban TikTok downloads in August 2020 through an Executive Order. Two federal judges struck down the order as unconstitutional, and President Joe Biden abandoned the efforts to ban the app along with WeChat and other platforms after taking office in 2021.
Given the court rulings, Christie and fellow candidate Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who agreed that he would also ban the platform, could face an uphill battle. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley have also made their feelings about TikTok clear, calling for more restrictions on the platform. Only entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has asserted that parents and individuals should individually exert control and guard against the exploitation of personal data.
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