Sayegh Helps TikTok Reverse Ban

On November 28, President-elect Donald Trump attempted to ban TikTok through an executive order; however, his recent public support for the short video application has garnered widespread attention. An article published by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday revealed the key figure behind Trump's change of heart—Tony Sayegh.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the report describes Sayegh's role in TikTok's fate by interviewing current and former executives of TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, company investors, and current and former U.S. officials. In March of this year, when the Biden administration expressed support for a bill that could lead to a TikTok ban, Sayegh quickly took action. As the head of public affairs for Haina International Group, a major shareholder of ByteDance, he currently serves as an informal advisor to TikTok, helping the company find a way to survive.

Sayegh turned his attention to Trump, who had initiated the ban on TikTok. He reached out to Trump's close advisors through informal channels, emphasizing the foolishness of banning TikTok, as it would not only score points for Biden's hardline stance on China but also benefit Facebook's parent company, Meta. Trump believes that Meta's previous actions against him affected his campaign for re-election in 2020.

Thus, just hours after the White House expressed support for a TikTok ban, Trump publicly supported TikTok. He made statements on his social media platform Truth Social, suggesting that if TikTok were banned, Facebook's business would double. Trump used derogatory Yiddish terms to mock Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

TikTok executives celebrated this turn of events. After Trump's re-election this month, they became even more optimistic, as this increased the likelihood of Trump fulfilling his campaign promise: to lift the ban and give the app a new lease on life in the U.S. In recent weeks, TikTok has also reached out to Trump's prominent associate Elon Musk to understand the incoming new administration. Musk is not only the owner of TikTok's competitor X but also one of Trump's closest advisors.

However, the situation remains full of uncertainty. The TikTok divestiture law signed by Biden passed overwhelmingly in Congress with bipartisan support. TikTok has filed a lawsuit challenging this law in May of this year. A U.S. court is expected to make a ruling by December 6 of this year. If TikTok loses, it must sell its U.S. business by January 19, 2025 (the day before Trump's inauguration), or it will be banned.

If Trump attempts to change this process, he will face some restrictions. Richard Blumenthal, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee and a Democratic senator from Connecticut, stated last week that Trump could try to modify the law, but cannot ignore it. Trump's spokesperson indicated that he plans to fulfill his campaign promises. Clearly, in the eyes of TikTok executives, Trump's victory creates the best opportunity for the company to remain in the U.S. They partially attribute this potential lifeline to Sayegh.

Sayegh's background is also quite remarkable. His parents immigrated to the U.S. from Lebanon in the 1960s. He grew up in Brooklyn and later moved to Westchester County, a suburb of New York City. He dreamed of becoming a child star from a young age, and despite experiencing multiple audition failures, he learned the spirit of resilience and was motivated to pursue a political career. After graduating from George Washington University, Sayegh briefly worked in his family's stone import business before joining a well-known Republican consulting firm and later moving to Fox News. During Trump's first term, Sayegh served as the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of the Treasury and managed the impeachment defense war room in the White House. In 2023, he became the head of public affairs at Haina International Group, one of ByteDance's largest investors.

Haina International is an investment firm based in Pennsylvania and was an early investor in ByteDance, currently holding about 15% of ByteDance's shares. Based on ByteDance's recent stock buybacks, these shares could be worth more than $45 billion. About half of these shares are personally owned by Jeff Yass, co-founder of Haina International. Yass is a major Republican donor who has supported many liberal-leaning congressional members opposing the TikTok ban.

After Trump announced his intention to ban TikTok in 2020, TikTok proposed a "Texas plan" aimed at isolating U.S. user data from China. TikTok executives believed that if Trump won the 2020 election, the "Texas plan" could alleviate his concerns. However, Trump lost that election. Under Biden's administration, the momentum to ban TikTok has intensified. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew formed a dream advisory team to defend TikTok at the beginning of 2023. Haina International frequently supports its portfolio companies, and its leadership believes TikTok's predicament deserves close attention. Thus, Haina International sent Sayegh to assist.

According to insiders, Sayegh has close relationships with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, daughter Ivanka, son Donald Trump Jr., and Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, and regularly speaks on the phone with people in Trump's circle. He regularly attends meetings of TikTok's political advisors, which include former advisors from the Obama administration David Plouffe and Jim Messina. The focus of these meetings is often on how to win the support of Democratic and Republican leaders.

Sayegh later informed the advisory team that he was trying to get Trump himself to join TikTok. Compared to other social networks, TikTok holds a certain advantage, including never having banned Trump from using its platform. Before the "Ban or Sell" divestiture legislation took effect in April of this year, TikTok had discussions regarding Trump's potential involvement, which executives considered productive. Sayegh told senior members of Trump's campaign team that if Trump joined TikTok, it could help him attract younger voters. Ultimately, Trump joined TikTok in June of this year and stated in his initial videos that he would "save TikTok."

Sayegh's boss, Yass, also supports Republicans through the conservative advocacy group Club for Growth, which rallies conservatives against the TikTok ban. Earlier this year, Trump spoke at a strategic meeting of the Club for Growth, stating that he had "rekindled the love" with this organization. Meanwhile, Sayegh and other TikTok executives sought help from conservative opinion leaders, including Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk, to assist in defending TikTok.

In this rescue operation, Sayegh has been keeping Shou Zi Chew informed of his progress. TikTok has also reached out to other Republicans in hopes of joining this effort. The company hired the lobbying firm Ballard Partners, which has close ties to Trump. Additionally, Bill Ford, a board member and investor of ByteDance, has maintained contact with people close to Trump; his wife has donated over $800,000 to Trump and other conservative organizations over the past year.

Since the U.S. election, Sayegh has continued to meet with members of Trump's inner circle. Executives from TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have expressed their hope that Trump can delay the execution of the ban and reach an agreement to allow TikTok to continue operating in the U.S., despite the challenges of repealing the divestiture law. On election night, Sayegh watched the election results unfold at a conference center in Palm Beach County, Florida, where Trump was also present. After Trump won the election, Sayegh and other TikTok executives celebrated once again.