Presidential inaugurations in the United States are moments of ceremony and tradition.
Every four years, the newly elected or returning president takes the oath of office in front of the nation.
The event brings together political leaders, foreign representatives, and business executives. It is not just a transfer of power but also a gathering of influential figures from different industries.
While the occasion is meant to mark the beginning of a new term, it often takes place during times of political uncertainty.
This year’s inauguration of Donald Trump is no exception.
Seated Next to Musk
According to The New York Times and Hotnews, TikTok CEO Shou Chew has accepted an invitation from President-elect Donald Trump to attend the ceremony on Monday.
He will be seated in the front row alongside other high-profile guests, including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk.
The inauguration will happen just one day after TikTok is set to shut down operations in the U.S.
A bipartisan law passed by Congress last year requires ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, to sell the platform to an American company or face a ban in the country.
Despite this, Fox News reports that Trump is considering an executive order to delay enforcement of the law.
This would provide more time to negotiate a sale or explore other options.
This move would be a major shift from Trump’s stance in 2020 when he sought to block TikTok in the U.S. and force its sale to an American company as part of broader trade actions against China.
Shou Chew has been with ByteDance since 2021, first serving as the company’s chief financial officer before becoming TikTok’s CEO two months later.
He replaced Kevin Mayer, a former Disney executive, who resigned after just three months while Trump was pushing for a TikTok ban.
Chew is known for staying out of the public eye, with TikTok’s chief operating officer, Vanessa Pappas, often speaking on behalf of the company.
A New York Times profile from 2022 suggested that ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming holds most of the decision-making power.
