President Donald Trump said he plans to negotiate TikTok’s future with China’s government.
Speaking with reporters Wednesday (Feb. 20) on Air Force One, Trump was asked if there had been any developments on the future of the popular video-sharing platform, Reuters reported Wednesday.
“No, there’s a lot of people interested in TikTok, and I think we have a chance of doing something good,” Trump said. “And we’ll be speaking to China about that also because they’re a party to it, obviously. But it would be great to keep TikTok alive, sell it to somebody that’s going to do a great job with it.”
Lawmakers had long wanted to ban TikTok due to concerns that its connection to China — via owner ByteDance — could present a threat to national security. Last year, President Joe Biden signed a bill into law that gave ByteDance an ultimatum: sell TikTok or see the platform banned in the United States.
The law gave ByteDance until Jan. 19 to comply, although Trump — who had once supported a ban before reversing course — promised the company he would find a solution.
That meant the ban began and essentially ended with little fanfare. TikTok went dark briefly for U.S. users Jan. 19, but the company began restoring service within hours once Trump said he would reverse the ban.
Apple and Google have since begun allowing users to download the TikTok app from their stores after suspending the option when the ban went into effect.
After taking office Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order that gave ByteDance an additional 75 days to find a new owner for TikTok.
In a separate order, Trump called for the creation of the first U.S. sovereign wealth fund, which he said could invest in TikTok.
“As an example, TikTok, we’re going to be doing something perhaps with TikTok, perhaps not; if we make the right deal, we’ll do it, otherwise we won’t,” the president said in a video posted on social platform X by the White House’s official “rapid response” account, Rapid Response 47. “… And we might put that in the sovereign wealth fund, whatever we make.”
Trump has spoken of hammering out a deal in which the U.S. would keep half ownership of TikTok. Possible investors who have expressed interest include AI company Perplexity AI, which hopes to merge with TikTok, and social media star “MrBeast.”
