Monday, 25 May 2026
Trump teases imminent TikTok sale to U.S. buyers
President Donald Trump on Sunday announced that a team of buyers had been identified for TikTok, the popular video-sharing platform currently facing a potential ban in the United States due to its connections to China.
He indicated that he could reveal the names of these buyers within the next two weeks, according to AFP.
“We have a buyer for TikTok, by the way,” Trump remarked during an interview on Fox’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.
“It’s a group of very wealthy people,” he continued, keeping further details under wraps but promising to disclose the group’s identities “in about two weeks.”
The president also noted that securing “China approval” for the transaction would likely be necessary, adding, “and I think President Xi (Jinping) will probably do it.”
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, an internet technology company based in China.
A federal mandate requiring either the sale of TikTok or its outright ban in the U.S. on national security grounds was set to go into effect just before Trump’s inauguration on January 20. However, the Republican, whose 2024 campaign has relied heavily on social media and who has expressed a fondness for the app, decided to temporarily halt the ban.
In mid-June, Trump extended the deadline by an additional 90 days, giving TikTok more time to secure a non-Chinese buyer or face prohibition in the United States.
Tech analysts quickly pointed to the TikTok controversy as emblematic of the broader, escalating technological rivalry between the U.S. and China.
Although Trump had previously supported banning or forcing the divestment of TikTok, he later changed course—vowing to protect the platform, which boasts nearly two billion users worldwide—after concluding it played a role in garnering support among young voters in the November election.
“I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump shared with NBC News in early May. “If it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension.”
Following two deadline extensions that pushed the cut-off date to June 19, Trump opted to grant the app a third extension.