Dems: Ban Tik after the elections

The bipartisan effort to force TikTok to divest from its Chinese-owned parent company contained a major Democratic sweetener — which could have far-reaching implications for the 2024 presidential election.

The bill, which passed last week as part of a pivotal $95 billion foreign-aid package, allows TikTok nine months to part ways with Chinabased owner ByteDance or face a ban in the United States. That timeframe is extendable up to a year at the discretion of the president.

While TikTok foes hailed the success, the long runaway ensures that Democrats will be able to use the platform as it is currently constituted for the November elections.

Team Biden regularly engages with an army of TikTok and other social-media influencers to spread messages. The Biden campaign TikTok account, BidenHarris HQ , has more than 300,000 followers.

An earlier version of the TikTok bill only allowed for a six-month window and would have forced the issue before November.

“They will utilize it as a political tool. It is very helpful to [Democrats],” said Rep. Jeff Van Drew, (R-NJ). “There are millions of young people who go on it and are very faithful to it.

“They wanted to get that extra bite at the apple. There is no reason they couldn’t divest within six months.”

A second GOP congressman offered “a theory that some may call conspiracy . . . Joe Biden wants his Chinese friends who influence ByteDance to have a November opportunity to help him out.”

Other House insiders closer to negotiations said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) faced headwinds from Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wa.), the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, who publicly took credit for extending the window.