TikTok bidder: South Dakota ‘certainly the front-runner'
'I think what you guys are advancing right here at Dakota State is a perfect match for what we're looking for, and your research will prove to be very essential to us and our plans moving forward,' Rasner said.
'I was of the opinion that it would be absolutely poetic for an American-owned TikTok to wind up in South Dakota, whether that would be in part or the whole thing,' Rhoden said.
Police present at protest outside SF Penitentiary
TikTok's parent company ByteDance is based out of China. Amid national security concerns, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law saying ByteDance must sell the social media app. President Donald Trump, however, has delayed an outright ban.
'Assuming they sell by the June 19th deadline, we would begin opening up discussions with Governor Rhoden further and implementing our public/private partnerships right here with Dakota State,' Rasner said.
Rasner was full of praise for Rhoden as he looked ahead to TikTok's possible future.
'He has partnered with us in a very strong and vocal way,' Rasner said. 'We appreciate that. We love South Dakota, and we find that this is going to be a very great home for TikTok in the future and have a very special place with TikTok in the future, so it'll have a very strong footprint here.'
And if Rasner's bid is successful, he says South Dakota is more than just a candidate for where TikTok might have a footprint.
'They're certainly the front-runner for our infrastructure right now, 100%,' Rasner said.
How much of TikTok's infrastructure might be located in the state is unclear. Rasner unsuccessfully ran for a U.S. Senate seat in Wyoming as a Republican in 2024.
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