President Donald Trump expressed confidence on Sunday that a deal concerning TikTok would be completed before the April 5 deadline. This deadline requires TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to either sell the popular app or face a potential ban in the U.S.
While speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump remarked, “We have a lot of potential buyers. There’s tremendous interest in TikTok,” noting that ongoing discussions with China could influence the outcome. “I’d like to see TikTok remain alive,” he added.
Earlier this month, Trump mentioned that the U.S. was in talks with four groups interested in purchasing the platform, which boasts 170 million American users. A U.S. law mandates TikTok to sever ties with ByteDance due to concerns that the Chinese government could use the app for espionage or to sway U.S. public opinion. The law was enacted on January 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration, but he quickly implemented a delay, allowing TikTok to continue operations.
That delay will expire on April 5. When asked if he would extend the deadline, Trump responded, “There’ll be a deal with TikTok, I’m pretty certain.”
Although Trump previously sought to ban TikTok over national security concerns during his first term, he has become more supportive of the app. “Selfishly speaking, I won the young vote by 36 points. Republicans generally don’t do very well with the young crowd, and I think a lot of it could have been TikTok,” Trump noted.
AFP
