Donald Trump says he doesn't want TikTok banned because it will let Facebook and 'Zuckersmuch' 'double their business' after they 'cheated in the last election'

A bipartisan bill to cut TikTok from its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance gathered momentum this week until Donald Trump signaled he is against it, and now some lawmakers are getting cold feet. 

This week, the House China Select Committee advanced the measure, which would specifically designate ByteDance and TikTok as foreign adversary-controlled applications.

If TikTok doesn't divest from parent company ByteDance, it could be banned across the U.S., the bill states. 

It has a real shot of becoming law after President Joe Biden told supporters Friday that he would sign the bill if Congress successfully passes it.

It sparked outrage as thousands of GenZers started calling their members of Congress threatening to commit suicide if TikTok is banned. 

And Trump bashed the bill on social media after the bill was cleared out of committee in a 50-0 bipartisan vote, saying if TikTok is banned its rival Facebook would 'double their business' 

'I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better,' Trump wrote. 'They are a true Enemy of the People!' 

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told DailyMail.com the TikTok bill introduced this week is a 'terrible idea'

Now, some in the Senate are calling into question the legitimacy of the measure.

'I think it's a terrible idea and it's hysteria that's running through both parties now.' Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told DailyMail.com Friday. 

Former President Donald Trump said the TikTok ban would embolden Facebook, which he claims is an 'enemy of the people'

Paul argued that the bill would be an infringement on American's First Amendment rights.

'In America, we don't just tell people you can't own a company because we don't like you. And 150 million people use their First Amendment freedom to express themselves on TikTok, and you can't just have that taken away from them.'

He also noted that the bill could further distress tensions with China. 

'People need to remember some of the lessons of history, when you start banning companies and banning interaction between countries, you come closer to a war,' he said. 'It's a huge step in the wrong direction.'

If passed, ByteDance would have five months after the law is signed to divest from TikTok. If it does not, app stores and web hosting platforms would not be allowed to distribute it in the U.S. 

Lawmakers on the committee accused CCP officials of using TikTok to spy on U.S. users' locations and dictate its algorithm to conduct influence campaigns, making it a national security threat.

Leaders on the China select committee are pushing a bipartisan bill that would force state-affiliated ByteDance to sell its shares of TikTok or else the popular video-sharing platform would be banned

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress in January claiming U.S. user data was not accessible to Chinese government officials. Leaders on the Select Committee on China, however, say that is false 

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers have worked on the bill for over a year

 Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., was also unsure of the House bill. 

Warner said he was open to supporting the bill, but also floated concerns that it 'does not pass legal muster.' 

'We need a we need an approach to deal with technology companies that come from nations that are viewed in law as adversarial.' 

When pressed on Trump's TikTok comments, Warner said, said the former president was being hypocritical, adding 'this is the same Donald Trump who led by executive order and said this was a national security concern years ago.' 

In 2020, Trump signed an executive order that gave ByteDance 45 days to sell TikTok or face a ban. Despite the action the company never divested from TikTok and never faced consequences. 

Still, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, and notably some Trump supporters, still support the proposed bill.

TikTok boats over 100 million users in the U.S., concerning lawmakers that its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance - which lawmakers says has ties with the CCP - poses a national security threat

'I don't think that we have to always agree with everything,' Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told DailyMail.com.

'I think TikTok should be banned until further notice. I think that Facebook should be held accountable as well.'

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told DailyMail.com though 'nobody likes Facebook,' he is in favor of taking action against TikTok.

'TikTok I think has got to be banned.,' he said. 'It is a Chinese spy app. I mean, it's a CCP door to everybody's phone who uses it.'

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said it is important Congress address the dangers posed by TikTok and that 'bipartisan action is absolutely necessary, with Trump or without.'

'I understand what [Trump's] saying. But social media is unregulated. It's immune from lawsuits. That's got to change,' said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told DailyMail.com: 'I am very interested in meaningful steps to limit TikTok's malign influence, to protect our children, to stop Communist China from engaging in espionage and surveillance and to halt the deliberate pushing of harmful propaganda.'

As the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, Cruz would be the top Republican overseeing the bill's review in the Senate, should the House pass it. 

Following the introduction of the House bill, TikTok used consumer location data to urge its users to call their representatives and demand the measure not be enacted, irking lawmakers. 

Thousands of children called lawmakers on Capitol Hill Thursday, staffers told DailyMail.com, many of whom were crying begging that their beloved social media app not be banned. 

'It's absolutely creepy,' Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said of the TikTok congressional call campaign. 'It's really crazy and it's a dangerous tool.'

'It is an algorithm designed to be addictive.'

The bill is scheduled to receive a vote on the floor next week after passing through the House Commerce Committee with unanimous approval. 

'The House Commerce Committee just voted 50-0 to force TikTok to sever their ties with the Chinese Communist Party,' House Commerce Chair Steve Scalise, R-La., wrote on X Thursday. 

'I will bring this critical national security bill to the House floor for a vote next week.'