When asked aboard Air Force One whether he would extend the deadline if necessary, the president said, “There’ll be a deal with TikTok,” adding “we would,” seemingly in response to the extension question.
“We’re working on TikTok,” Trump said. “We have a lot of potential buyers. There’s tremendous interest in TikTok.”
“We’re dealing with China also on it because they may have something to do with it. And we’ll see how that goes,” he added. “But it’s something I think you’re going to have, I’d like to see TikTok remain alive.”
A law banning the app is set to go into effect Saturday. The law, passed by large bipartisan majorities in Congress last April, requires TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to divest from the app or face a ban on U.S. networks and app stores.
It was initially meant to take effect on Jan. 19, just one day before Trump’s inauguration. However, former President Biden declined to enforce the law in his final days in office, and Trump signed an executive order giving TikTok a 75-day reprieve amid a push by the new administration to strike a deal.
Trump’s campaign utilized TikTok during his 2024 bid, and the White House has previously told The Hill it would use the video-sharing app itself if the parent company divested.
Numerous buyers have made offers for the app, although Larry Ellison’s Oracle has emerged as a top contender, according to multiple media outlets.
Read more in a report at TheHill.com.
