With just days remaining before TikTok faces a potential nationwide shutdown, President Donald Trump indicated he would “probably” extend the April 5 deadline requiring the social media platform’s Chinese parent company to sell its U.S. operations or face a ban.
“We have a lot of potential buyers, there’s tremendous interest in TikTok,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. “I’d like to see TikTok remain alive,” he added, signaling his administration’s preference for finding a solution that keeps the popular app operating in the United States.
The imminent deadline stems from a bipartisan law passed last year requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest its U.S. operations over national security concerns or face a nationwide ban. In January, Trump signed an executive order extending the original deadline by 75 days, pushing the decision to April 5.
This marks a significant reversal from Trump’s first term, when he attempted to ban the platform through executive orders that were ultimately blocked by courts. During his recent campaign, Trump credited TikTok with helping him win younger voters. “I won the young vote by 36 points. Republicans generally don’t do very well with the young vote,” Trump said Sunday. “I think a lot of it could have been TikTok.”
The White House has taken an unusually direct role in the negotiations, effectively operating as an intermediary between ByteDance and potential American buyers. Several bidders have emerged, including a consortium led by billionaire former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, another group involving social media star MrBeast, and technology companies including Oracle and Amazon.
Any deal faces significant hurdles. The law requires that foreign entities own no more than 20% of TikTok’s U.S. operations after divestiture and prohibits foreign control over the platform’s algorithms. These restrictions have been sticking points for the Chinese government.
Trump has suggested that concessions on tariffs might persuade China to approve a sale. “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, we’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariff?” Trump said recently. “The tariffs give us great power to negotiate.”
According to sources familiar with the negotiations, potential buyers are demanding liability protection before committing billions to acquire TikTok, seeking guarantees against potential lawsuits from future administrations.
The platform briefly went offline in January after the initial deadline passed, but service was restored when Trump promised to postpone enforcement. The president’s latitude in implementing the law has led legal experts to suggest that while the letter of the law might not permit multiple extensions, the broad enforcement powers granted to the president would make legal challenges difficult.
For the app’s estimated 170 million American users, the outcome remains uncertain. TikTok has actively courted Trump’s favor, even displaying notifications to users crediting “President Trump’s efforts” for keeping the service online after the January shutdown.
A group of Democratic senators has urged the administration to establish a formal process for extending the deadline to allow negotiators more time to work through outstanding issues. Trump’s decision on whether to extend the deadline again or approve one of the proposed deals is expected before Saturday.