It's quite a turnaround. Trump once painted TikTok as a national security nightmare—a threat to both America's defense and its economy. Yet now he's backing a deal that's been compared to an "engineless car" by some observers. What changed his mind?

Public opinion seems to be playing a major role here. The political calculus has shifted, and what was once framed as a clear-cut threat now looks more complicated to push through. It's a reminder that tech policy doesn't exist in a vacuum—it gets shaped by how people react, what they pressure their leaders about, and which way the political winds are blowing at any given moment.