‘We had a deal pretty much for TikTok, not a deal but pretty close. And then China changed the deal because of tariffs,’ Trump told reporters in early April.
President Donald Trump said that if a deal is not reached by the June 19 deadline, he would offer TikTok another extension to divest from its Beijing-based parent company before it faces a ban in the United States.
In an interview that aired on May 4, Trump told Kristen Welker of NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he has a “little sweet spot” in his heart over the short video application due to its popularity among young Americans. He cited his gains among the young demographic in last year’s election as a Republican candidate for president and his campaign being “focused on TikTok.”
“I’d like to see [a deal] done,” Trump said. “TikTok is—it’s very interesting, but it’ll be protected. It’ll be very strongly protected. But if it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension, might not need it.”
Last year, Congress passed a bill ordering TikTok’s American-based operations to divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, by Jan. 19 or face a ban in the United States.
Lawmakers have expressed national security concerns over the app’s ties to the Chinese regime, particularly with exposing user data and the potential for algorithm manipulation.
In a March 2024 hearing, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that ByteDance’s algorithm, coupled with the American user data that TikTok collects, would enable influence operations that are “extraordinarily difficult to detect, which is part of what makes the national security concerns represented by TikTok so significant.”
During an April 9 congressional hearing, “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary accused China of using the app to distribute propaganda to shape public perception of Trump’s tariffs.
“TikTok is weapons-grade spyware, period,” O’Leary told lawmakers, adding, “It’s one of the best propaganda machines I’ve ever seen.”
After the app briefly went dark in the United States on Jan. 18, Trump said he would sign an executive order upon inauguration extending TikTok’s divest-or-face-a-ban deadline, which brought it back to U.S. app stores.
However, a deal failed to culminate within the initial extension period, leading Trump to extend the deadline on April 4.
“My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress,” Trump wrote in a post on his social platform, Truth Social. “The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days.”
That pushed TikTok’s deadline to June 19.
Days after that announcement, Trump said China was close to approving a TikTok deal but decided to back out after he imposed sweeping tariffs on all Chinese imports.
“We had a deal pretty much for TikTok, not a deal, but pretty close. And then China changed the deal because of tariffs,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “If I gave a little cut in tariffs, they would approve that deal in 15 minutes, which shows the power of tariffs.”
On April 17, Trump said Chinese officials had contacted his administration amid the ongoing trade war between the United States and the Chinese regime, and suggested that a deal on TikTok’s divestment may come later, as the regime would have to sign off on a potential agreement.
In Sunday’s interview, which was filmed at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said a deal is being negotiated with a potential buyer for TikTok’s American operations.
“We have a group of purchasers, very substantial people. They’re going to pay a lot of money,” Trump said. “It’s a good thing for us. It’s a good thing for China.”
Previously, several bidders had stepped up to the plate in talks to buy TikTok, including Amazon and a consortium led by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely.
Trump suggested that a potential TikTok deal would be included in negotiations with China to end the ongoing tariff war.
“If we make a deal with China, I’m sure that’ll be a subject, and it’ll be a very easy subject to solve,” he said.
Roughly 170 million Americans use TikTok, which allows users to record videos in the app up to 10 minutes long and to upload videos up to 60 minutes in length.
Public support for banning TikTok declined by summer 2024, according to Pew Research. At the time, 32 percent of adults said they supported the federal government banning the app, down from 50 percent in March 2023.
Aldgra Fredly contributed to this report.