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I think on HN it's easier to just be clear about what we're positing; I'm not really sure what you mean by playing coy. Do you think Trump's being paid by Byte

I think on HN it's easier to just be clear about what we're positing; I'm not really sure what you mean by playing coy. Do you think Trump's being paid by ByteDance to lift the ban?

choult 2y ago
Trump has displayed a disturbing pattern of changing his opinions and actions after meeting with monied or powerful people who have vested interest in said change. Often this is accompanied by a public message of flattery or a donation to his "political" coffers.
- joenot443 2y ago
  Totally agree on that, public flattery's a very common tribute in international politics. So I'll ask again, are we of the opinion that Trump is being paid by actors, foreign or domestic, to enact change here?
  - zelda420 2y ago
    I do believe that. We are talking about the admin that launched Trumpcoin which soared to tens of billions in market cap in the last few days.
    - rbanffy 2y ago
      So, just to make it very clear what I implied, yes. I believe he and his organisations receive benefits, directly or not, in money or other forms, for him steering policy towards what’s convenient to whoever is paying. An easy way is for TikTok to just promise to algorithm away any criticism of him in the US.
- hiccuphippo 2y ago
  Like every other politician. Trump is just less subtle about it. Politicians take political decisions, not logical ones.
magpi3 2y ago
> Do you think Trump's being paid by ByteDance to lift the ban? There is never a need to be that direct. Republican and Democrat donors tell politicians what positions to take. Trump doesn't need to take money directly from a company. He takes it from his donors, who in turn take it from the company in some form. In this case, the theory is that billionaire Jeff Yass (an investor in Tik Tok) has "persuaded" Trump to flip his position. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/jeff-yass-billionaire-donor-investments-tiktoks-parent-company-rcna142531 https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/jeff-yass-billionaire...
- joenot443 2y ago
  rbanffy's comment was exactly as direct as I specified, and I'll reiterate their comment for posterity - "I’m sure they expect the issue to be resolved by paying the incoming president". My understanding now is that now we've shifted from "ByteDance pays Trump to flip" to "American businessman Jeff Yass meets with Trump and convinces him to flip" I hope you can understand that as a non-American observer I see a lot of distance between those two claims and find myself confused when they're treated with equivalency.
  - rbanffy 2y ago
    It doesn’t even need to go through Jeff Yass. It can just be a new Trump resort and casino getting expedited approval in Hong Kong, or some other place. Imagine the business opportunities being POTUS will bring to him and his family. The possibilities for corruption are endless.
    - joenot443 2y ago
      It doesn't take much imagination; he spent 4y as POTUS and most people agree it was to his personal benefit. I'm not aware of this leading to expedited approvals for Trump resorts in other countries, but it seems you're more familiar with his dealings than I am. I'd still love your clarification though - do you still stand by the claim that Trump is being paid to reneg on his position re. TikTok, as per https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42755872 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42755872 ?
whiplash451 2y ago
Trump will apply a basic principle. Could this thing manipulate my voter base at scale and in the wrong direction? Yes -> kill

I think on HN it's easier to just be clear about what we're positing; I'm not really sure what you mean by playing coy. Do you think Trump's being paid by ByteDance to lift the ban?

choult 2y ago

Trump has displayed a disturbing pattern of changing his opinions and actions after meeting with monied or powerful people who have vested interest in said change. Often this is accompanied by a public message of flattery or a donation to his "political" coffers.

joenot443 2y ago
Totally agree on that, public flattery's a very common tribute in international politics. So I'll ask again, are we of the opinion that Trump is being paid by actors, foreign or domestic, to enact change here?
- zelda420 2y ago
  I do believe that. We are talking about the admin that launched Trumpcoin which soared to tens of billions in market cap in the last few days.
  - rbanffy 2y ago
    So, just to make it very clear what I implied, yes. I believe he and his organisations receive benefits, directly or not, in money or other forms, for him steering policy towards what’s convenient to whoever is paying. An easy way is for TikTok to just promise to algorithm away any criticism of him in the US.
hiccuphippo 2y ago
Like every other politician. Trump is just less subtle about it. Politicians take political decisions, not logical ones.

magpi3 2y ago

> Do you think Trump's being paid by ByteDance to lift the ban? There is never a need to be that direct. Republican and Democrat donors tell politicians what positions to take. Trump doesn't need to take money directly from a company. He takes it from his donors, who in turn take it from the company in some form. In this case, the theory is that billionaire Jeff Yass (an investor in Tik Tok) has "persuaded" Trump to flip his position. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/jeff-yass-billionaire-donor-investments-tiktoks-parent-company-rcna142531 https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/jeff-yass-billionaire...

joenot443 2y ago
rbanffy's comment was exactly as direct as I specified, and I'll reiterate their comment for posterity - "I’m sure they expect the issue to be resolved by paying the incoming president". My understanding now is that now we've shifted from "ByteDance pays Trump to flip" to "American businessman Jeff Yass meets with Trump and convinces him to flip" I hope you can understand that as a non-American observer I see a lot of distance between those two claims and find myself confused when they're treated with equivalency.
- rbanffy 2y ago
  It doesn’t even need to go through Jeff Yass. It can just be a new Trump resort and casino getting expedited approval in Hong Kong, or some other place. Imagine the business opportunities being POTUS will bring to him and his family. The possibilities for corruption are endless.
  - joenot443 2y ago
    It doesn't take much imagination; he spent 4y as POTUS and most people agree it was to his personal benefit. I'm not aware of this leading to expedited approvals for Trump resorts in other countries, but it seems you're more familiar with his dealings than I am. I'd still love your clarification though - do you still stand by the claim that Trump is being paid to reneg on his position re. TikTok, as per https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42755872 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42755872 ?

whiplash451 2y ago

Trump will apply a basic principle. Could this thing manipulate my voter base at scale and in the wrong direction? Yes -> kill