Trump Confirms TikTok Deal with U.S. Investors is Still “On the Table”

President Donald Trump has reiterated that a potential deal to spin off TikTok’s U.S. assets is still under consideration, despite facing significant pushback from several U.S. Senators. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump affirmed, “We have a deal with some very good people, some very rich companies that would do a great job with it, but we’re going to have to wait and see what’s going to happen with China.”

This comes after the proposed deal to address concerns over national security risks related to TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, was put on hold earlier this week. The deal would create a separate company for TikTok’s U.S. operations, majority-owned and operated by U.S. investors, and significantly reduce the Chinese company’s control over the platform.

The U.S. government had initially set a deadline for ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets by September 2020, but Trump extended the deadline again, with the new target date now set for June 19, when a potential ban on the app could go into effect.

Trump’s decision to extend the deadline has faced criticism from both Democratic Senators and Republican Senators. Senators Mark Warner and Ed Markey have argued that Trump does not have the legal authority to extend the deadline and that the proposed deal may not meet legal requirements. On Wednesday, Senator Markey attempted to introduce legislation to extend the deadline until October, but this was blocked.

Meanwhile, Senator Tom Cotton, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, voiced concerns that while many American investors are interested in purchasing TikTok, they must sever all ties with China. Cotton also expressed skepticism that the deal, in its current form, could protect American investors from any legal ramifications. “To any American who wants to invest in some half-assed TikTok deal, Congress will never protect you from going into business with Communist China,” Cotton warned.

Despite these challenges, work on the potential deal continues. However, a major obstacle remains: Chinese government approval. One source close to ByteDance’s U.S. investors indicated that negotiations are ongoing, but any agreement will likely be contingent on resolving the broader U.S.-China tariff dispute.

In January 2020, Trump had ordered ByteDance to divest its U.S. TikTok assets or face a ban by September 2020, but with the deadline approaching, the White House granted ByteDance a reprieve. TikTok was later restored to app stores after the Justice Department told Apple and Google in January that it would not enforce the law at that time.

If a deal is not struck by June 19, the ban could take effect, leaving TikTok’s 170 million American users without access to the platform. As the deadline nears, all eyes are on the negotiations between Washington and Beijing, and whether a resolution can be reached before the June 19 cutoff.