Uh, Like, Weren’t We Supposed To Be Concerned About TikTok?

We talk SO MUCH these days about the southern border. What about Chinese infiltration on our young people’s phones?

I personally thought the biggest issue of the 2024 election would be “Wow, these dudes are old and annoying” and/or “the economy.” While Option II still has some potential, it seems like the biggest issue is going to be immigration, and specifically immigration at the southern border, which is phrased often in terms around “an invasion.” I suppose you could make some connections between immigration and the economy, and while your data would probably be wrong, it would sound right enough for people to believe you. So, all-in, the southern border is a big deal. I am surprised Trump hasn’t gone absolutely bananas using the name “Laken Riley” these last 1.5 weeks, as an aside.

Well, if we want to talk about “an invasion” of “other-type people,” maybe we should look at China, who is seemingly our biggest threat and competitor on a global stage, and seemingly for a long time this is who Republicans were most concerned about (and some Democrats too). China is TikTok. While they spun off a U.S. office that’s based in Austin and probably has a nice mix of hipsters and coder bros, the parent company (ByteDance) is still very much in…