Donald Trump Suggests TikTok Ban Delay, Says China Will ‘Play a Role’ in Deal
Key Takeaways
- Unless a deal is reached, the TikTok ban is set to take effect on April 5.
- Donald Trump has said he is open to extending the deadline.
- The President told reporters “China is going to play a role.”
When questioned on Thursday, March 6, Donald Trump suggested he is open to postponing a U.S. TikTok ban for a second time.
“We have a lot of interest in TikTok. China is going to play a role, so hopefully China will approve of the deal,” Trump told reporters.
TikTok Sale Deadline Approaching
The initial deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operation to an American company was Jan. 19. 2025.
However, after Trump signed an executive order postponing the ban, the company now has until April 5 to negotiate a sale.
As that deadline approaches, asked whether he would extend it further, Trump replied, “Probably.”
The legislation banning TikTok allows the president to delay enforcement by up to 90 days, i.e., no later than April 20.
Trump Favors TikTok Joint Venture
While the original bill aimed for a full sale of TikTok to an American firm, ByteDance has publicly dismissed that notion.
Meanwhile, Trump expressed his preference for a joint venture that would give Chinese and American partners a stake in TikTok.
Vice President JD Vance and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz are reportedly leading the White House’s efforts to broker a deal.
Potential U.S. Buyers
Negotiations are ongoing, and several U.S. businesses and even the U.S. government have been considered potential buyers.
Some of the more credible candidates are Oracle, Microsoft, and a coalition of investors led by Frank McCourt, which includes Kevin O’Leary and Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian.
Other names in the mix include Jimmy Donaldson (aka MrBeast) and Elon Musk, although Musk has since stated he isn’t interested in the video app.
Several proposals to have the U.S. government take a stake have also been raised.
In January, Perplexity AI put in a bid that would see the government own up to half of the new entity.
Finally, Trump has hinted that a proposed U.S. sovereign wealth fund may have a role to play.
