Start a free 14-day trial to unlock unlimited access to Puck.

Welcome back to The Best & The Brightest. I’m Tara
Palmeri, wishing everyone in Los Angeles safety and good health. I ended up on the Westside of the city for an extended trip and had to evacuate, like many others, but unlike them I’m not leaving a home behind. I’m devastated for the people who have lost their homes and communities, and I’m keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers. 

In tonight’s issue, I dig into the topic that is keeping K
Street up at night: TikTok, the Chinese-owned company that has hired pretty much anyone with proximity to power in the Biden White House or incoming Trump administration to lobby on their behalf. The platform is set to go dark next week if the Supreme Court doesn’t grant Trump’s request for a stay of the law that would ban the app if it’s not sold—a petition he filed via amicus brief when confronted with the devastating prospect that hundreds of
millions of viewers might miss his inauguration. One thing is for certain: Trump is now sold on the app he once called a national security threat and sees it as a place to groom young MAGA converts. More on TikTok’s years-long Trump charm offensive, below.  

But first…