Trump Says 'Very Wealthy' Investors Ready To Buy TikTok (image-instagram/realdonaldtrump)
During an interview with Fox News, US President Donald Trump had announced that he has a group of “very wealthy people” ready to buy TikTok, whose identities will be revealed after two weeks. The video-sharing app is banned in the US, claiming it poses a national security threat.
Trump, during the interview, said that the sale would need approval from the Chinese government, but he said he thinks President Xi Jinping “will probably do it.” Earlier this month, he had delayed for the third time the enforcement of a law mandating TikTok’s sale.
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TikTok’s fate in the US had been in doubt since the approval of a law in 2024 that sought to ban the platform unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, divested from it. And the latest extension would also need the parent company to reach a deal to sell the platform by 17 September.
The previous deal to sell TikTok to an American buyer fell apart in April, when the White House clashed with China over Trump’s tariffs. It is unsure whether the current buyer is the same as the one who was waiting in the wings three months ago.
The US government had passed a law forcing TikTok’s sale in April last year, with lawmakers citing fears that the app or its parent company could hand over US user data to the Chinese government, which TikTok had denied. Trump himself had criticised the app during his first term, but later in his 2024 election win, it became a factor, and now he supports its continued use in the US. The law was supposed to take effect on 19 January, but Trump has repeatedly delayed its enforcement through executive actions—moves that have drawn criticism for overruling congressional lawmakers.
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As of now, it’s unclear whether ByteDance would be willing to sell the company. Any possible sale will likely need approval from the Chinese government. The president earlier suggested that American investors buy the company and then sell half of it to the US government in a joint partnership.
