Donald Trump appeared at a victory rally tonight just hours before he is due to be sworn in for a second term.
Speaking inside Washington’s Capital One Arena, he told 20,000 MAGA supporters: “At noon, the curtain closes on four long years of American decline, and we begin a brand new day of American strength and prosperity, dignity and pride. Bringing it all back once and for all.
“We are going to end the reign of a failed and corrupt political establishment in Washington, a failed administration. We achieved the most epic political victory our country has ever seen.”
Throughout his address, he took swipes at his predecessor, Joe Biden, at once attacking him for trying to claim credit for the hostages deal reached between Israel and Hamas. “I know that Biden is saying that they made the deal,” Trump chided, drawing loud boos and groans from the crowd.
“This week we achieved an epic ceasefire agreement as a first step toward lasting peace in the Middle East. And this agreement could only have happened as a result of our historic victory in November,” he added. “I’m glad to report that the first hostages have just been released.”
Trump then discussed how he would secure the southern border, create investment in the States, and ensure the current US ban on the app TikTok would be lifted. He said he would propose the Chinese-based app be in a “joint venture” with the US Government taking 50 per cent of the revenue in return for allowing it to operate.
It comes after TikTok returned less than 24 hours after going dark in response to a federal law that commanded the app be pulled from Google and Apple stores if owner ByteDance was unable to sell to a US buyer. The company that runs TikTok said in a post on X on Sunday that tech companies that faced fines if they did not remove TikTok’s app from the digital stores and other service providers had agreed to help.
TikTok thanked President-elect Donald Trump, who on Sunday said he planned to sign an executive order after his inauguration on Monday to give TikTok’s China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer before the popular video-sharing platform is subject to a permanent US ban. It was not immediately clear whether TikTok was working as it did before the company instituted a blackout late on Saturday.
TikTok said Mr Trump’s promise of an executive order had provided “the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive”.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on the eve of his inauguration, Trump said: “I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no libaility for any company that helped keep TikTok from doing dark before my order. Americans deserve to see our exciting inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.
“I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to [stay] up. Without US approval, there is no TikTok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions. Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the US gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the US and whichever purchase we so choose.”
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