Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had "zero influence" on Washington's response to Chinese video app TikTok, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Monday while flatly rejecting claims made in a Wall Street Journal article.
"That's the first time I ever heard of it," Navarro said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "You know, I was witness to how that unfolded let's be clear, what the president is doing is not really about TikTok, it's about TikTok and WeChat and all of these other Chinese software companies that are able to collect data on American citizens, ship it over the Chinese servers and share it with the Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army."
Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Zuckerberg, in a private White House dinner last October, raised the case to President Donald Trump that Chinese internet companies should be considered more concerning than reining in Facebook.
The newspaper also reported that Zuckerberg discussed TikTok with several senators and in late October, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who met with him in September, and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote a letter demanding an inquiry into TikTok. In recent months, Trump has been threatening to shut the app down.
"I'm always amazed at how some of these stories pop up, but that one for me has zero credibility because I know that he had nothing to do with anything that happened here in the White House," said Navarro.
He added that he's not "deeply involved" in TikTok's sale negotiations, but he does think it is encouraging that Oracle Corp. has stepped in.
"I think I expressed some concerns previously with you guys on CNBC about Microsoft and its ties to Communist China," said Navarro. "Oracle is one of the toughest, smartest companies on the planet and they've been absolutely meticulous about making sure that the Chinese Communist Party has zero influence over them. Let's see, as the president loves to say, let's see how it pans out."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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