Vice President Kamala Harris' outreach to influencers from the social media platform TikTok spurred a surprising response from a Fox & Friends panelist Monday morning.
"Chinese, have at it," said political commentator Brian Kilmeade.
Kilmeade was responding to a report from White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich about the Harris campaign's efforts to reach young voters ahead of the Democratic National Convention by inviting TikTok influencers to attend.
"This is something that this administration has been doing for a while," Heinrich said. "They are increasingly aware that that is where people get their information."
TikTok currently faces a battle against the U.S. government over a law signed by President Joe Biden in the spring demanding Chinese parent company ByteDance divest from the company or face a ban in the U.S.
While TikTok calls Biden's ban "the most sweeping speech restriction in the country's history," the Justice department contends the app could be weaponized by China government to spread propaganda and collect personal information, according to a recent NPR report.
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A Pew Research poll from 2023 shows a third of adults under the age of 30 find their news on TikTok.
The New York Times reported Sunday that the DNC granted credentials — passes typically reserved for press members only — to more than 200 influencers and has invited Nabela Noor, a Muslim American TikTok influencer with 11 million followers on several social media platforms, to speak.
Former President Donald Trump pursued a similar tactic last month when he invited conservative influencer Amber Rose to speak at the Republican National Convention.
On Monday morning, Fox & Friends Steve Doocy argued the influencers were being shipped in "to make Kamala Harris look better."
Heinrich replied, "Harris is doing well with TikTokers — maybe it's working."
It was at this point Kilmeade took several jabs at the Harris campaign for outreach to influencers even as the Justice department raises concerns about misinformation directed by the Communist Party of China, the nation's sole ruling party.
"Are the Chinese grabbing all of our information or not?" Kilmeade asked. "The Chinese, have at it until November."
Doocy then told Kilmeade, "Here is the scary part: Some of your kids may have it."
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