President Donald Trump hinted on Thursday that he would possibly extend the ban deadline on TikTok for the second time if a deal is not concluded, citing "a lot of interest" in the video-sharing app.
Responding to a reporter's question on whether he would delay the deadline for the ban if an agreement is not achieved, Trump said, "Probably, yeah."
We have tremendous interest in TikTok. China is going to be involved, so hopefully China will be okay with the deal," Trump said during a press conference in the Oval Office. "But they're going to be involved.
Following Trump's executive order deadline schedule, TikTok's parent firm from China, ByteDance, was offered extra 75 days after the initial January cutoff for divesting itself from the application for national security reasons.
The TikTok ban law first took effect on January 19—the day before Trump was inaugurated for his second term—temporarily darkening the platform. It was restored shortly after Trump promised to sign an executive order extending the deadline. He did so, granting ByteDance until April 5 to complete a divestiture agreement.
A number of potential buyers have shown interest in purchasing TikTok's U.S. business, including YouTube personality MrBeast, and a joint offer from former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary. Trump has also mentioned the names of his friend Elon Musk and Oracle founder Larry Ellison as possible buyers.
With roughly a month remaining prior to the deadline, Trump seemed to suggest an extension may be avoided but still not rule one out. "We don't need an extension," he reported. "But if I need an extension, I will probably get it extended.
Under the Biden administration, a TikTok sale had appeared unlikely as ByteDance and TikTok continually insisted that divestment was not possible. But in recent times, there have been indications from the Chinese government about a possible change of heart, although it is unclear whether any particular bid has picked up momentum.
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