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President Donald Trump has said he would extend the June 19 deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the United States assets of TikTok, the short video app used by 170 million Americans, if no deal had been reached by then.
“I would … I would like to see it done,” Trump told the NBC News program ‘Meet the Press with Kristen Welker’ in an interview taped on Friday and aired across the US on Sunday.
Trump said he had a “sweet spot” for TikTok after the app helped him win over young voters during last year’s US presidential election.
According to him, “TikTok is – it’s very interesting, but it will be protected”.
In April, Trump extended the deadline for the sale by two months and 15 days, in a bid to find a non-Chinese buyer.
But a potential deal to sell TikTok was scuttled because of Trump’s tariffs on China.
Trump, however, told NBC there may not be a need for another reprieve.
Trump, who credited TikTok with helping him connect with young voters in the 2024 election, said he has a “sweet spot” for the platform, adding, “TikTok is – it’s very interesting, but it will be protected.”
Trump has already twice granted a reprieve from enforcement of a congressionally mandated ban on TikTok that was initially set to take effect in January.
A deal had been in the works to spin off TikTok’s U.S. operations into a new company based in the U.S. and majority-owned and operated by U.S. investors. But it was put on hold after China signaled it would not approve the arrangement, following Trump’s announcement of steep tariffs on Chinese goods.
Democratic senators argue that Trump lacks the legal authority to extend the deadline and say the proposed deal would not meet legal requirements.
A source close to ByteDance’s U.S. investors said last month that work on the deal continues ahead of the June 19 deadline, but that the White House and Beijing must first resolve the tariff dispute.
