President Donald Trump said on Sunday that a group of wealthy investors is interested in purchasing TikTok’s U.S. operations, amid ongoing scrutiny over the app’s ties to China.
Speaking on Fox’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, Trump revealed, “We have a buyer for TikTok. Very wealthy people. It’s a group of wealthy people” adding that he would name them “in about two weeks.”
Trump to seek China’s approval for TikTok’s sale
The president acknowledged that he would probably require “China approval” for the transaction, “and I think President Xi (Jinping) will probably do it.”
TikTok is owned by a China-based internet company, ByteDance.
On January 20, the day before Trump’s inauguration, a federal law was scheduled to go into effect mandating TikTok’s sale or prohibition on national security grounds.
However, the Republican, whose 2024 campaign was largely reliant on social media and who has expressed his admiration for TikTok, placed the ban on hold.
Non-Chinese buyers or risk being banned
In mid-June, Trump gave the well-known video-sharing app an additional 90 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or risk being banned in the U.S.
Despite once pushing for a ban, Trump now expresses support for the platform.
Trump had long advocated for a ban but after seeing that the platform, which has nearly two billion users worldwide, had helped him win over young people in the November election, he changed his mind and pledged to defend it.
Soft spot for TikTok
In early May, Trump admitted to NBC News that he had a soft spot for TikTok. “If it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension,” he stated.
Trump has now extended it a third time after two previous extensions moved the date to June 19.
A group of buyers was prepared to pay ByteDance “a lot of money” for TikTok’s US operations, he stated in May.
He claimed last month that if it weren’t for a disagreement over Trump’s tariffs on Beijing, China would have consented to a deal on the acquisition of TikTok.
In confirming discussions with the US government, ByteDance stated that important issues needed to be settled and that any agreement would be “subject to approval under Chinese law.”