President Trump on Thursday suggested he would consider extending the deadline for a ban on TikTok for a second time if a deal isn’t reached, stating there is “a lot of interest” in the video-sharing platform.
When asked by a reporter if he plans to extend the TikTok ban deadline if a deal is not hammered out in time, Trump said, “Probably, yeah.”
“We have a lot of interest in TikTok. China is going to play a role, so hopefully China will approve of the deal,” Trump continued while speaking to the media in the Oval Office. “But they’re going to play a role.”
“But we have a lot of interest in TikTok,” the president reiterated.
Under the timeline set by Trump’s executive order, TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, was given 75 days beyond the initial January deadline to divest from the popular platform amid national security concerns.
The law banning TikTok initially went into effect on January 19 — the day before Trump was sworn into his second term — causing the platform to go dark for a few hours.
The platform was quickly brought back online after Trump pledged to issue an executive order once back in office to give the company an extension. The president made good on that promise, giving ByteDance until April 5 to hammer out a divesture deal.
Numerous buyers have expressed interest in purchasing the U.S. arm of TikTok. The list includes bids from YouTube star MrBeast and a joint proposal from former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and “Shark Tank” star and investor Kevin O’Leary.
Trump has floated numerous other names like his ally Elon Musk and Oracle founder Larry Ellison.
The president noted on Thursday the deadline is still about a month away, “so we don’t need an extension.”
“But if I need an extension, I will probably get it extended,” he added.
The prospect of selling TikTok appeared dead in the water under the Biden administration after TikTok and ByteDance repeatedly said any sort of divestment was not a feasible option.
The Chinese government, however, has increasingly signaled a potential change of heart on the deal, though it is unclear if any specific bid has made notable progress.
