Trump to hold a meeting on possible investors to buy TikTok with
possible ban at stake
[April 02, 2025] By
SARAH PARVINI and JOSH BOAK
LOS ANGELES (AP) — President Donald Trump will hold a Wednesday meeting
with aides about possible investors who could buy a stake in TikTok, a
deal that could potentially stop the social media site from being banned
in the United States.
The details of the meeting were confirmed by a person familiar with the
situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal
deliberations.
There has been uncertainty about the popular video app after a law took
effect on Jan. 19 requiring its China-based parent, ByteDance, to divest
its ownership because of national security concerns. After taking
office, Trump gave TikTok a 75-day reprieve by signing an executive
order that delayed until April 5 the enforcement of the law requiring a
sale or effectively imposing a ban.
Among the possible investors are the software company Oracle and the
investment firm Blackstone.
Likely to attend the Oval Office meeting with Trump on Wednesday are
Vice President JD Vance, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, White House
national security adviser Mike Waltz and Director of National
Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
CBS News first reported on the meeting.
Talking to reporters Sunday while on Air Force Once, Trump said he would
“like to see TikTok remain alive.” He previously indicated that he might
consider reducing tariffs against China if the country approves the
sale.
During his first term, Trump tried to ban TikTok on national security
grounds, which was halted by the courts before his administration
negotiated a sale of the platform that eventually failed to materialize.
He changed his position on the popular app during last year’s
presidential election and has credited the platform with helping him win
more young voters.
“I won the young vote by 36 points. Republicans generally don't do very
well with the young vote,” he said Sunday. “I think a lot of it could
have been TikTok.”
Trump has said that the deadline on a TikTok deal could be extended
further if needed. He previously proposed terms in which the U.S. would
have a 50% stake in a joint venture. The administration hasn’t provided
details on what that type of deal would entail.
TikTok and ByteDance have not publicly commented on the talks. It’s also
unclear if ByteDance has changed its position on selling TikTok, which
it said early last year it does not plan to do.
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 What will happen on April 5?
If TikTok is not sold to an approved buyer by April 5, the original
law that bans it nationwide would once again go into effect.
However, the deadline for the executive order doesn’t appear to be
set in stone and the president has reiterated it could be extended
further if needed.
Trump’s order came a few days after the Supreme
Court unanimously upheld a federal law that required ByteDance to
divest or be banned in January. The day after the ruling, TikTok
went dark for U.S. users and came back online after Trump vowed to
stall the ban.
The decision to keep TikTok alive through an executive order has
received some scrutiny, but it has not faced a legal challenge in
court.
Who wants to buy TikTok?
Although it’s unclear if ByteDance plans to sell TikTok, several
potential bidders have come forward in the past few months.
Aides for Vice President JD Vance, who was tapped to oversee a
potential deal, have reached out to some parties, such as the
artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI, to get additional
details about their bids, according to a person familiar with the
matter. In January, Perplexity AI presented ByteDance with a merger
proposal that would combine Perplexity’s business with TikTok’s U.S.
operation.
Other potential bidders include a consortium organized by
billionaire businessman Frank McCourt, which recently recruited
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian as a strategic adviser. Investors
in the consortium say they’ve offered ByteDance $20 billion in cash
for TikTok’s U.S. platform. And if successful, they plan to redesign
the popular app with blockchain technology they say will provide
users with more control over their online data.
Jesse Tinsley, the founder of the payroll firm Employer.com, says he
too has organized a consortium, which includes the CEO of the video
game platform Roblox, and is offering ByteDance more than $30
billion for TikTok.
Trump said in January that Microsoft was also eyeing the popular
app. Other interested parties include Trump’s former Treasury
secretary Steve Mnuchin and Rumble, the video site popular with some
conservatives and far-right groups. In a post on X last March,
Rumble said it was ready to join a consortium of parties interested
in purchasing TikTok and serving as a tech partner for the company.
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Boak reported from Washington.
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