TikTok CEO to attend inauguration with front-row seat at Trump's invite

A source familiar with the plans confirmed to Fox News Digital that the inaugural committee had extended the invite to Chew after The New York Times first reported it.

The inauguration on Jan. 20 will come one day after TikTok plans to shut down operations within the U.S. 

Trump is now considering an executive order to suspend enforcement of the law requiring TikTok to divest from Chinese-owned ByteDance or face a ban in the U.S. for 60 to 90 days, according to the Washington Post, to buy time to negotiate a sale or some other solution. 

Trump's defense of TikTok marks a reversal from his position in 2020, when he tried to block the video-sharing app in the U.S. and force its sale to a U.S. company. 

"I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok," Trump said last month. The incoming president has more than 14 million followers on the app. He met with the company's executives in Mar-a-Lago last month.

In wide, bipartisan fashion, Congress passed a law last year implementing the ban-or-sale policy, arguing the CCP uses the app to spy on Americans and spread propaganda, and ByteDance has long said TikTok is not for sale. 

Reports have emerged of U.S. billionaires like Musk and Kevin O'Leary lining up to put in offers for TikTok's U.S. operations. 

Despite chronic hacking by the Chinese, Trump seems to be coming in with a diplomatic tone toward Xi and his government, keeping them on their toes about Trump's longtime promise to institute tariffs as high as 60% on their exports to the U.S. 

"We have a good relationship with China. I have a good relationship," Trump told CNBC last month. "We've been talking and discussing with President Xi some things."