TikTok blasts Trump ban as illogical

US president's move would remove video app used by 19 million Americans from Apple and Android stores 

 Chantel Jeffries onstage during the TikTok US launch celebration at NeueHouse Hollywood on August 1, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images

A lawyer for TikTok told a federal judge that President Donald Trump’s impending ban on the video-sharing app is irrational given that its Chinese owner is in talks to strike a deal the president himself has demanded.

“How does it make sense to impose this app-store ban tonight when there are negotiations underway that might make it unnecessary?” attorney John Hall asked at an unusual Sunday morning hearing on TikTok’s request to temporarily block the ban.