Former top Obama aide claims GOP concerns over alleged Chinese spy app is ‘bad faith BS’

A former top aide to President Obama said Republicans targeting TikTok is “bad faith BS,” the latest in a string of Democrats downplaying or defending the popular social media app amid Chinese espionage fears.

Dan Pfeiffer, a former Obama senior adviser who now co-hosts Pod Save America, took to Twitter over the weekend to make the comments as fears surrounding the app continue to grow. Last year, a report showed that a TikTok team in China accessed data of U.S. TikTok users, including two journalists.

“The Republicans see the issue as a win-win,” Pfeiffer tweeted. “If Biden doesn’t ban TikTok, they can paint him as soft on China. If Biden does ban TikTok, he risks alienating the young voters who put him over the top in 2020. Per usual from the GOP, it’s bad faith BS.”

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Pfeiffer’s comments follow several other Democrats rushing to TikTok’s defense. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to the app on Saturday and came out against a ban. 

“This is not only my first TikTok, but it is a TikTok about TikTok,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Do I believe TikTok should be banned? No.”

“I think it’s important to discuss how unprecedented of a move this would be,” she continued. “The United States has never before banned a social media company from existence, from operating in our borders, and this is an app that has over 150 million Americans on it.”

A trio of Democratic lawmakers also held a press conference on Capitol Hill last week defending TikTok. During the gathering, New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman claimed that politicians are hypocrites for singling out the app when its American-owned counterparts have allowed Russia, for example, “to interfere with our 2016 election” and have “allowed lies and misinformation to live on their platforms.”

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Bowman also suggested that racism fuels TikTok’s opposition. “Let’s not have a dishonest conversation,” he said. “Let’s not be racist towards China and express our xenophobia when it comes to TikTok because American companies have done tremendous harm to American people.”

Bowman, meanwhile, is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, whose affiliated nonprofit, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, in December received a $150,000 donation from ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company. The donation went towards honoring members of the caucus.

California Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, joined Bowman at the press conference. Like the Congressional Black Caucus, a nonprofit affiliated with the Hispanic caucus received a $150,000 donation from ByteDance in December, Fox News Digital previously reported. Ocasio-Cortez is also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. 

Republican lawmakers, on the other hand, have been sounding the alarm over what they say are Chinese spying concerns. 

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“The evidence that China is using TikTok to spy on and influence American citizens is clear, and it only keeps mounting as time goes on,” Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio wrote in a Fox News Digital op-ed.

“Moreover, Beijing’s influence on ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is undeniable. Not only does Chinese law compel ByteDance to hand over data at a moment’s notice, but the Chinese government also holds an ownership stake in the tech giant’s key domestic subsidiary.”

Last Thursday, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. During the hearing, Republican Florida Rep. Neal Dunn asked whether ByteDance had ever spied on American citizens.

“I don’t think that spying is the right way to describe it,” Chew responded.

Pfeiffer did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Gabriel Hays contributed reporting.