President Donald Trump expressed confidence on Sunday that a deal would be reached for TikTok ahead of the April 5 deadline, which requires its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the popular app or face a U.S. ban.
“We have a lot of potential buyers and tremendous interest in TikTok,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
He noted ongoing discussions involving China, stating, “We’re dealing with China on this as well, because they may have a role to play,” adding, “I’d like to see TikTok continue operating.”
Last Thursday, China rejected Trump’s suggestion that he might reduce tariffs in exchange for Beijing’s approval of the app’s sale to a non-Chinese company.
Earlier this month, Trump revealed that the U.S. was in talks with four groups interested in acquiring TikTok, which has approximately 170 million American users.
The U.S. government mandated that TikTok separate from ByteDance or be banned due to concerns that the app could be exploited by Beijing for surveillance or to influence American public opinion.
The law, which took effect on January 19—just a day before Trump’s inauguration—was temporarily delayed by his administration, allowing TikTok to continue operating. That delay is set to expire on April 5.
“There will be a deal on TikTok, I’m quite certain,” Trump said when asked if he would extend the deadline in the absence of an agreement.
During his first term, Trump sought to ban TikTok over national security concerns but has since softened his stance.
“Selfishly speaking, I won the young vote by 36 points. Republicans don’t usually perform well with younger voters, and I think TikTok may have played a big role in that,” he remarked.
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