MidReal Story
TikTok Turmoil: Presidential Ultimatum
Scenario: Trump: If TikTok is Banned, I Will Drop out of the U.S. presidential race.
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[Donald Trump] had just been briefed by his aides in the Oval Office on the threat that China poses to U.
security through the social media app TikTok.
I (Trump)had been heavily contemplating whether or not to ban the app, which was owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
The dilemma arose because of the concern that China could gain access to sensitive information about American users, like their locations and habits.
[Donald Trump] had also been concerned about how this potential ban would affect his public image.
Trump was now discussing with his aides whether or not they should ban the app and how this would affect his public image.
“Banning this app is an overreaction,” I said firmly to my aides, who were scattered around my desk in the Oval Office.
“I don’t think it’s going to play well with the voters.”
“Mr President, TikTok is a national security threat,” one of my aides replied.
I turned my head to see who it was—it was Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Pompeo, a tall man with grey hair, was one of my most trusted advisors, and when he spoke, you could hear the authority in his voice.
“We’ve spoken about this before, Mr President; banning TikTok is necessary for protecting our national security,” Pompeo continued.
After our last discussion, Pompeo had come back with Attorney General William Barr to brief me on the security risks associated with TikTok.
The two men had made it clear that they believed that TikTok was a threat to national security and privacy.
Now one of my aides was sharing a graph showing just how big the social media app was in terms of usership.
“TikTok has over 100 million users in the United States alone, Mr President,” the aide said.
“That’s a huge number, but we’re not talking about taking away their freedom of speech or anything like that,” I said, leaning back behind my desk.
“But it could be seen that way, sir,” the aide replied.
“Banning TikTok would give China a free pass for banning US-owned apps and products within their country.” The aide was right; there was a lot at stake here.
But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was still standing firm.
He had a look on his face like he’d already made up his mind about what he wanted to do.
“Sir, we’ve seen how China has used the data it collects from Americans on TikTok to identify potential blackmail targets,” Pompeo said.
“They can also use that data to build dossiers on US citizens.”
“And you’re sure about this?”
I asked him.
“100 percent certain,” Pompeo replied.
“The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has recommended banning the app—” “And I agree,” Barr interjected.
I turned to look at the Attorney General.
He was a taller man with salt-and-pepper hair and a serious demeanor.
“We cannot allow the Chinese Communist Party to control American user data,” Barr continued.
“And that’s exactly what they’re doing through TikTok.” Pompeo nodded his head in agreement.
I had two of my most trusted advisors here telling me that we should ban TikTok.
Sure, it was owned by a Chinese company.
But it was also an incredibly popular app.
One of my aides was still standing close to my desk and she spoke up.
“It’s clear what we need to do here,” she said.
“We need to —” “Make a decision quickly,” another aide chimed in.
I held up my hand and waited for the room to get quiet before I spoke again.
“Let’s not forget how popular this app is among young Americans,” I said, looking around at my team of advisors.
“If we ban TikTok, we’re going to face a huge backlash from our citizens.” I paused for a moment and let that sink in before continuing, “But if the risks are as great as we say they are… then that’s just something we’re going to have to deal with.”
I could see the concern on everyone’s faces, but I knew that this was a decision I had to make as the President of the United States.
The security of our country was at stake.
“Can we negotiate with them?”
“Can we get them to move their servers out of China?”
“Or at least agree to stop sharing data with the Chinese government?”
More questions were flying at me from all angles, and I held up my hand again to cut through the noise.
“I think the first step here is to find out how much of a threat TikTok really is,” I said, looking over at Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who nodded his head in agreement.
“We can talk about negotiations later,” I said, looking around at the rest of my team.
I could see that some of them didn’t like that answer, but they all nodded in agreement anyway.
I was the President and they knew that this was a decision that I had to make.
I opened my mouth to say something else, but then stopped when another one of my aides approached me with his phone in hand.
He held it out for me so that I could see what was on the screen, and there was a message from Apple CEO Tim Cook that said: We stand ready to support any action you may take against TikTok, Mr President..
I smiled and looked up at my team of advisors before speaking again: “I’ve heard enough,” I said firmly.
“I stand behind Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr’s recommendation to ban TikTok,” I said, looking around at the rest of my team.
My decision is final.” My team nodded their heads in agreement before turning around and heading towards the door to leave the Oval Office so that they could get started on whatever it was that they needed to do next.
I took another sip of my Diet Coke before setting it down on my desk and standing up so that I could leave as well.
The aide with the phone that had Tim Cook’s message on it had stayed behind, and he quickly fell into step beside me as we walked out of the office and headed down the hallway together.
“I want you to get in touch with Microsoft right away,” I said to him as we made our way down the hall.
“President Trump,” he replied, looking over at me with a confused expression on his face.
“Microsoft is in talks to potentially acquire TikTok’s operations in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand,” I said to him before he had a chance to speak again.
I’m sure that they would like for me to approve a deal like that, but I don’t think that I will,” I said to him, and his eyes widened slightly in surprise at my words.
I put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently before continuing to speak: “Tell them that they have until September 15th to get this done, or I’ll be banning TikTok myself,”
I said to him, looking over at him to make sure that he understood what I was saying.
He nodded in agreement with me, and I gave him a smile before turning to head back to my office where I had a meeting with some other advisors scheduled for later that afternoon.
I was still trying to figure out what I was going to say to them when we arrived at my office, but I didn’t have much time to think about it since they were already standing there waiting for me when I arrived.
I took a deep breath before stepping into the office and closing the door behind me, then I settled down at my desk to get started on some paperwork while I waited for them all to get ready for their briefing.
“You know, I don’t like this idea of Microsoft taking over TikTok’s operations in the US,”
I said to them after we had finished going over everything else that we needed to discuss during the meeting.
“They’re a big company with big problems,” I said to them, raising an eyebrow slightly before continuing.
“I don’t see why they should be rewarded with a deal like this one.”
“I’m sorry, Mr President,” one of my aides said, looking over at me with a confused expression on his face.
“I just don’t understand what you’re saying, sir.”
“That’s because you don’t know how to think like a businessman,” I said condescendingly, looking over at him with a disgusted expression on my face before continuing to speak.
“I want you guys to go back and take another look at this whole TikTok situation,”
I continued, looking around at all of them as I spoke.
“I want you to take another look at everything they’ve done wrong and then come back with some more recommendations for me,”
The aides all looked at each other for a moment, but they didn’t say anything.
They just stood there silently while they waited for me to speak again.
I let the silence stretch out a little longer before speaking again, my voice calm but firm as I continued to address them.
“Listen, I know that this whole situation is going to be a big blow to my re-election campaign,”
I said, looking around at all of them with a serious expression on my face.
“I know that I have a lot of support among younger voters and that banning TikTok is going to hurt those numbers,”
I continued, letting out a deep sigh as I spoke.
“But I’m not going to let that stop me from doing what’s right,”
I said firmly, my eyes narrowing slightly as I looked around at all of them.
“If TikTok is still around after September 15th, I’ll drop out of the race.
I’m serious.” I said, letting out another deep sigh as I finished speaking, and the aides all stared at me in shock when they heard what I had said.
If TikTok is not sold by September 15th, I will be banning it,”
I said again, looking around at all of them to make sure that they understood what I was saying.
“I’m not going to let China get away with this,”
I said firmly, my eyes narrowing slightly as I looked around at all of them.
“They’re trying to take over our country by any means necessary and I’m not going to let it happen,”
I continued, letting out a deep sigh as I spoke. “They’re not going to win this trade war or any other war if I have anything to say about it.”
The aides all stared at me in shock for a moment before one of them finally spoke.
“But Mr President…” he started, but he trailed off before he could finish what he was trying to say.
“What are you trying to say?”
I asked him, raising an eyebrow slightly as I looked over at him.
“What are you trying to tell me?”
“Well, sir…” he started again, but he hesitated for a moment before he could finish speaking.
He took a deep breath before starting again: “We just want to make sure that you’re aware of the political implications of such a move.”
I let out a deep sigh when I heard what he had said, and I leaned back in my chair to get comfortable before speaking again.
“Listen, I don’t care about the political implications,”
I said firmly, raising an eyebrow slightly as I looked over at him.
“I don’t care if this costs me the election,”
I continued, letting out another deep sigh as I spoke.
“I’m not going to let China run our country into the ground.”
The aides all stared at me in shock when they heard what I had said, and I let out a deep sigh before speaking again.
“I know that it’s not going to be easy,”
I said, shaking my head slightly as I continued to speak.
“But I’m not going to back down.
I’m not going to let our country go down without a fight,”
I continued, raising an eyebrow slightly as I spoke.
“They want a war, they’ve got it!”
I said firmly, letting out a deep sigh as I finished speaking.
I’m not afraid to make tough decisions, even when it’s not popular,”
I said, looking around at all of them as I spoke.
“I’m not afraid to do what needs to be done to protect our country,”
The aides all stared at me in shock for a moment before one of them finally spoke: “We understand that, sir.”
I let out a deep sigh when I heard what he had said, and I nodded in agreement with him before speaking again.
“But we’re just not sure how we’re going to do it,”
I said to him, looking over at him with a serious expression on my face.
“We know that you have the power to ban apps like TikTok from being used in this country,”
he continued, hesitating slightly before he could finish what he was saying.
“But we’re not sure how we’re going to do it without alienating a significant portion of your supporters who are young users of the app.”
The aides all stared at me in shock when they heard what he had said, and I let out a deep sigh before speaking again.
“Well, we’ll figure something out,”
I said firmly, raising an eyebrow slightly as I spoke.
“We always do.”
The aides all nodded in agreement with me when they heard what I had said, and I let out a deep sigh before turning back to my desk to get back to work.
I glanced over at Pence for a moment and I shook his head, knowing that he still wasn’t convinced that I was making the right decision.
“I just think you need to take a moment and think about this, Donald,”
he said, looking over at me with a concerned expression on his face.
“I just don’t want you to make a decision that you’re going to regret later on.”
I let out a deep sigh when I heard what he had said, and I shook my head slightly before speaking again.
“I’ve already made up my mind, Pence,”
I said firmly, leaning back in my chair to get comfortable as I spoke.
“I can’t wait any longer.”
Pence glanced over at me for a moment and I raised an eyebrow slightly as I looked back over at him.
“What are you talking about?”
he asked, frowning slightly as he spoke.
“Is there something that I should know?”
I let out a deep sigh when I heard what he had said, and I shook my head slightly before speaking again.
“I can’t wait for the election in November,”
I said firmly, leaning back in my chair to get comfortable as I spoke.
“It’s too close.”
Pence nodded in understanding when he heard what I had said, and he remained silent for a moment before he spoke again.
“But you just said that you weren’t afraid of losing the election because of this,”
he said, frowning slightly as he spoke.
Pence remained silent for a moment when he heard what I had said, and he leaned forward in his chair to look over at me before speaking again.
“You’re going to lose a lot of support if you do this,”
he said, looking over at me with a concerned expression on his face.
“A lot of young people in this country use TikTok on a daily basis.”
I let out a deep sigh when I heard what Pence had said, and I shook his head slightly before speaking again.
“Yes, I am aware of that,”
I said firmly, leaning forward in my chair to look over at him as I spoke.
“But I can’t let that stop me from doing what needs to be done.”
Pence remained silent for a moment and I leaned back in my chair to get comfortable as I waited for him to speak.
“We’re just not sure how to do it,”
he finally said, looking over at me with a serious expression on his face.
“We’ve already tried to do it, but there are legal obstacles in the way.”
I let out a deep sigh when I heard what Pence had said, and I looked down at the desk for a moment before speaking again.
“Can’t we just try to find a way around them?”
I asked, raising an eyebrow slightly as I spoke.
“It’s not like we haven’t done it before.”
Pence nodded in agreement with me when he heard what I had said, and he looked down at the desk for a moment before speaking again.
“Yes, we can,”
he said, looking over at me with a serious expression on his face.
“But it’s not going to be easy.”
I let out a deep sigh when I heard what Pence had said, and I looked up at the clock to see how much time we had left before the meeting was supposed to start.
“Well, then we’d better get started,”
