WASHINGTON, June 29: U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that a group of very wealthy investors is poised to buy TikTok, with only China’s approval standing in the way of finalising the deal.
Speaking on Fox News during an interview with anchor Maria Bartiromo on Sunday morning, Trump said,
“We have a buyer for TikTok… I’ll need probably China approval and I think President Xi will probably do it… It’s a group of very wealthy people.”
Though he refrained from naming the prospective buyer, Trump promised that full details would be made public “in about two weeks.” He did not specify whether the buyers were individuals, a consortium, or a corporate entity.
The announcement comes as the White House continues to seek a resolution over TikTok’s future amid long-standing national security concerns about its Chinese ownership. Trump’s administration had first raised alarms about TikTok’s data practices during his first term, and the effort to force a divestment of the app has continued through his return to office.
TikTok’s current ownership by Chinese tech giant ByteDance has been a flashpoint in U.S.-China relations and domestic political debate, with lawmakers citing potential risks to user privacy and national security.
The current deadline for a forced sale is September 17, but Trump signalled a willingness to extend the timeline again if it helps avoid banning the app outright. “We’ve worked very hard to find a way to keep TikTok in the hands of people who will keep data secure. I know the young people appreciate it,” he added, noting that young Americans have responded positively to his efforts to preserve the app.
Although ByteDance has previously challenged forced sale orders in court, the Biden administration, too, had pursued similar actions citing risks posed by foreign ownership of sensitive user data.
Trump’s remarks suggest that negotiations have reached an advanced stage, though significant regulatory and diplomatic hurdles remain — notably Chinese government approval, which Beijing has been reluctant to grant in earlier cases involving the transfer of sensitive algorithms or data control to foreign entities.
There has been no official response from the Chinese government or ByteDance so far.
Observers say any sale would require not only approval from Chinese authorities, but also careful navigation of U.S. regulatory agencies including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
With Trump hinting at a major announcement in the coming weeks, attention now turns to whether this proposed acquisition could finally bring closure to a long-running geopolitical and legal battle over one of the world’s most popular social media platforms.
