(Credit: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images)
The US "pretty much" has a deal on the sale of TikTok, according to President Trump, who says talks with China about the future of the video app are set to begin on Monday or Tuesday.
Chinese tech firm ByteDance, which owns TikTok, still needs to find a buyer for TikTok's US operations, following a national security-motivated ban on the app operating in the US that came into play on Jan. 19, 2025, of this year. The Trump administration has extended that deadline several times, an illegal move, according to critics.
On Air Force One Friday night, Trump said it's likely China will need to approve any deal involving TikTok divesting its US operations. When asked about the likelihood of the deal being confirmed, Trump told reporters: "I'm not confident, but I think so."
"I think the deal is good for China and it's good for us," he added.
Trump has been light on details on details for months. Earlier this week, he told Fox News that a deal was in place with "very wealthy people," and promised details in "two weeks." Very wealthy is key, as TikTok's US operations have been valued at up to $50 billion.
Numerous potential suitors for TikTok have emerged so far, with a front-runner, according to unconfirmed reports, being enterprise software giant Oracle. However, numerous left-field candidates have declared an interest in buying the app's US operations, including a consortium of investors led by former LA Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. Meanwhile, AI search engine Perplexity has also thrown its hat into the ring.