Trump Open to Another Extension for TikTok if No Deal Reached by Deadline

โ€˜We had a deal pretty much for TikTok, not a deal but pretty close,โ€™ Trump told reporters in early April. โ€˜And then China changed the deal because of tariffs.โ€™

President Donald Trump has said that if a deal is not reached by the June 19 deadline, he would offer TikTok another extension to divest from its Beijing-based parent company before it faces a ban in the United States.

In an interview that aired on May 4, Trump told Kristen Welker of NBCโ€™s โ€œMeet the Pressโ€ that he has a โ€œlittle sweet spotโ€ in his heart over the short video application because of its popularity among young Americans. He cited his gains among the younger demographic in the 2024 election as a Republican candidate for president with a campaign โ€œfocused on TikTok.โ€

โ€œIโ€™d like to see [a deal] done,โ€ Trump said. โ€œTikTok isโ€”itโ€™s very interesting, but it will be protected. It will be very strongly protected. But if it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension, might not need it.โ€

In 2024, Congress passed a bill ordering TikTokโ€™s U.S.-based operations to divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, by Jan. 19 or face a ban in the United States.

Lawmakers have expressed national security concerns over the appโ€™s ties to the Chinese regime, particularly regarding the exposure of user data and the potential for algorithm manipulation.

In a March 2024 hearing, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that ByteDanceโ€™s algorithm, coupled with the U.S. user data that TikTok collects, would enable influence operations that are โ€œextraordinarily difficult to detect, which is part of what makes the national security concerns represented by TikTok so significant.โ€

During an April 9 congressional hearing, โ€œShark Tankโ€ investor Kevin Oโ€™Leary accused the Chinese regime of using the app to distribute propaganda to shape public perception of Trumpโ€™s tariffs.

โ€œTikTok is weapons-grade spyware, period,โ€ Oโ€™Leary told lawmakers. โ€œItโ€™s one of the best propaganda machines Iโ€™ve ever seen.โ€

After the app briefly went dark in the United States on Jan. 18, Trump said he would sign an executive order upon inauguration extending TikTokโ€™s divest-or-face-a-ban deadline, which brought it back to U.S. app stores.

โ€œMy Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress,โ€ Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. โ€œThe Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days.โ€

That pushed TikTokโ€™s deadline to June 19.

Byย Jacob Burg

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