Donald Trump opposed the ban on TikTok, called Mark Zuckerberg “Zuckersmack” and called Facebook “the real enemy of the people”

Former President Donald Trump and future Republican Party nominee for the US presidential election in November this year has expressed his support for TikTok amid efforts by US lawmakers to force the owner of the social network ByteDance to sell the business or else it will be blocked. Trump used the news story to simultaneously criticize Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg, the social network’s founder and CEO, Axios reports.

Trump’s comments came as a crucial House committee passed bipartisan legislation requiring TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to divest itself of its ownership rights within 165 days. This legislative move has caused widespread concern among TikTok users who fear a potential shutdown of the service in the United States, and has led to a flow of calls from constituents to Congress.

Trump warned that a ban on TikTok could boost Facebook’s business, calling the platform “the real enemy of the people” and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg “Zuckersmack.”

Interestingly, Trump’s new statement contradicts his position during his tenure as US president, when he launched a trade war with China and was the first to threaten to ban TikTok. However, now Trump supports the Chinese social network and does not want Facebook to benefit from its ban.

However, the committee’s unanimous vote to move forward with a bill to ban TikTok reflects bipartisan concerns about Chinese ownership of TikTok. At the same time, the White House has made it clear that President Biden would likely sign such a bill if it passes.