The president has said he is in constant talks to have domestic investors take over the popular app to reduce its Chinese ownership
US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he is working on a plan to save TikTok and may decide on its future within the next 30 days. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Florida, Trump said there is great interest in the app among US investors.
The announcement follows TikTok’s brief shutdown in the US last weekend after ByteDance, its parent company, missed a January 19 deadline to divest its American operations. The shutdown came after the US Supreme Court upheld a federal law mandating that ByteDance sell the app to a US company, citing national security concerns. The platform was restored hours later after Trump announced plans to issue an executive order extending the compliance deadline by 90 days and pitched a plan to seek US acquisition of a majority stake in TikTok.
“I have spoken to many people about TikTok, and there is great interest in TikTok… If we can save TikTok, I think it would be a good thing,” Trump said.
According to Reuters, Trump’s administration is negotiating a deal that would involve ByteDance retaining a minority stake while US investors and software companies oversee TikTok’s data collection and software updates. Oracle, which has hosted TikTok’s US user data since 2022, is reportedly among the companies being considered for this role. However, Trump denied Oracle’s involvement.
“No, not with Oracle. Numerous people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying [TikTok] and I will make that decision probably over the next 30 days,” Trump said during the flight.
Among the potential investors is Microsoft, NPR reported, citing sources, adding that meetings to discuss the app’s future in the US are scheduled for next week. Neither Microsoft nor Oracle responded to media requests for comment.
Trump initially proposed the idea of a joint venture for TikTok with a 50/50 ownership split between ByteDance and US investors. He said earlier this week that TikTok would be “worthless” without a permit to operate in the US, but could be worth $1 trillion if it had one. Trump hinted at Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and the owner of social media platform X, as a possible buyer. Other interested parties reportedly include YouTube creator MrBeast and billionaire Frank McCourt, founder of the internet advocacy group Project Liberty.
ByteDance has not confirmed whether it will agree to sell TikTok. However, media reports suggest that the Chinese government is considering the proposal as a way to prevent the app from being effectively banned in the US.
