President Donald Trump revealed in a recent interview that a buyer for TikTok has been found, with an announcement expected in “about two weeks.” Speaking on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Trump said the deal likely requires approval from China, which he believes President Xi Jinping will grant. He described the buyer as “a group of very wealthy people.”
This comes amid ongoing uncertainty about TikTok’s future in the U.S. after a law mandating the app’s ban or sale by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, took effect five months ago. Despite the law, Trump has delayed enforcement multiple times, including granting a 90-day extension earlier this month, pushing the deadline to September 17.
A potential deal to transfer majority control to American ownership nearly finalized in April but collapsed after Trump announced new tariffs on China, causing further delays. ByteDance stated that any agreement would need to comply with Chinese law, and Beijing has indicated it won’t approve any deal that includes TikTok’s algorithm, which is key to the app’s success.
Former President Joe Biden signed the sale-or-ban law last year, but enforcement has been postponed repeatedly, partly due to Trump’s efforts to keep the app operational while negotiating a deal.
