TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew invited to Trump inauguration amid impending ban
Washington, DC - TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has been invited to attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, the day after the social media platform may be forced to shut down.
Chew will join other major tech CEOs at Trump's inauguration next week, including Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla's Elon Musk.
According to a source who spoke to the New York Times under the condition of anonymity, Chew will be seated on the dais alongside his tech peers. The location is preserved for former presidents, lawmakers, and honored guests.
While neither TikTok nor its parent company ByteDance has commented on the invitation, which was reportedly sent out by the Trump Vance Inaugural Committee, it is expected that Chew will attend.
This invitation is important for the TikTok CEO as a sign of friendship with Trump, who has in recent months spoken out against a ban on the social media platform if it fails to be sold into US ownership.
The Singaporean CEO of TikTok faced intense grilling in the US Senate last year at the hands of Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, who questioned Chew's citizenship and continually asked whether he had any connections to the Chinese Communist Party.
It is expected that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of the ban, but Trump has signaled opposition to the move and even asked that the court's ruling be paused until after he has entered office.
In December 2024, Trump met with executives of TikTok at Mar-a-Lago. In a news conference afterward, he said that he had a "warm spot" for the company.
Cover photo: AFP/Brendan Smialowski