President Donald Trump on Wednesday will consider a final proposal for TikTok, as the April 5 deadline approaches, Fox News has learned.
A meeting in the Oval Office will involve Vice President JD Vance, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, national security advisor Mike Waltz, and director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
The administration is reportedly finalizing plans for potential investors that could include Blackstone and Oracle, as well as a long list of other investors that will likely involve blue-chip private equity firms, venture capital firms, and major investors in the technology industry, as first reported by CBS News.
SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS LOOMING TIKTOK BAN
Shortly after taking office, Trump signed an executive order giving ByteDance an April 5 deadline to divest TikTok to an American buyer, or shut down the platform.
The president assured reporters there would be a deal by Saturday, noting there is a lot of interest in the company.
“We are working on TikTok. We have a lot of potential buyers,” Trump said. “There’s tremendous interest in TikTok. … We have a great team of people essentially taking bids. You have a lot of people that want to buy TikTok. We’re dealing with China also on it, because they may have something to do with it. We’ll see how that goes.”
TRUMP SAYS HE MAY LOWER CHINA TARIFFS ON CERTAIN CONDITION
President Trump told Fox News’ Peter Doocy negotiations are not yet tied to a bigger tariff deal with China, but he is “flexible.”
“I’m a very flexible person,” Trump said. “… Maybe I’ll take a couple of points off if I get approval for something. I haven’t done it. Maybe I’ll do it, maybe I won’t.”
He added the decision is his.
“The decision’s going to be my decision,” Trump said. “As you know, through Congress, they’ve given me the power to make that decision.”
During the presidential campaign, Trump said he would “never ban TikTok” after joining the platform, but during his first term in office, he advocated for the action, citing national security concerns.
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