President-elect Donald Trump has given the Chinese intelligence services a big Christmas present by petitioning the Supreme Court to delay the enforced sale or suspension of TikTok. TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, which is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, the United States’s preeminent adversary.

Trump’s petition asserts that he “opposes banning TikTok in the United States at this juncture, and seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.” Unless the Supreme Court accepts Trump’s request, TikTok must cease operation or be sold to a U.S. owner by Jan. 19, 2025, the day before Trump reassumes the presidency.