President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One over the weekend that he expects TikTok to have a new owner before its Friday deadline ban.
In January, Trump set the April 5 deadline, initially postponing the online video platform from going dark in the U.S. again so that an American buyer could swoop in and take over the app currently under the management of its Chinese parent company Bytedance.
“A lot of people want to buy it,” Trump told reporters aboard the president’s aircraft on Sunday, emphasizing that he’d like to see TikTok “remain alive,” crediting it for winning him the young voters.
“I’ll be honest, selfishly speaking, I won the young vote by 36 points. Republicans generally don’t do very well with the young vote, and I think a lot of it could have been (because of) TikTok.”
In actuality, Trump received 46% of the votes of people ages 18-29 in 2024, with Kamala Harris garnering 52% of the votes by young people. However, it was an improvement for Trump of 10% over his performance with the young vote in 2020.
In his first term, Trump supported the platform’s ban, sharing the same national security concerns that led to the Supreme Court voting in favor of Congress’s bipartisan legislation — signed into law by former President Joe Biden — banning the app if it did not divest from its Chinese ownership. For years, the app has been accused of being a Chinese government tool used to spy on America. However, TikTok ownership has previously denied that.
The app was initially banned in the U.S. on Jan. 19.
Though he appeared confident that the app would be acquired before the deadline, Trump told reporters he would extend it if necessary. While some billionaires have been speculated upon, no confirmed conversations have taken place regarding which American entity is most likely to purchase the app.
Congress’ reactions to potential ban
Three Democratic senators sent a letter to Trump on Monday requesting that he work with Congress to preserve the app, according to USA Today.
“To the extent that you continue trying to delay the divestment deadline through executive orders, any further extensions of the TikTok deadline will require Oracle, Apple, Google and other companies to continue risking ruinous legal liability,” the letter written by Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said, urging their Republican counterparts to sign the “Extend the TikTok Deadline Act.”
If the act passes, it would extend the TikTok ownership deadline to Oct. 16, 2025.
Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who has been favorably outspoken about the ban, has apparently said he would “allow the White House to develop a deal structure that complies with ban legislation that he has long favored,” per the New York Post.
The Trump administration has made it evident that TikTok remaining accessible in the U.S. is a top priority. As deals remain uncertain, TikTok’s 170 million U.S. users will have to wait and see if the popular video app will black out again.