United States President Donald Trump recently stated that Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok, joining a long list of companies considering taking over the app following its brief ban on national security grounds.
When asked if Microsoft was in talks to acquire the popular Chinese video-sharing app, Trump said: “I would say yes.” Trump added there was “great interest in TikTok” but declined to provide a full list of firms interested in the sale.
Trump to take a decision in the next 30 days
“Numerous people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying it. And I make that decision over the next, probably the next 3o days,” he said last week.
TikTok, which has around 170 million American users, stopped working for American users on January 19 after a law banning it on national security grounds came into effect. Trump, who had previously backed a ban on the platform, promised a day later to delay the implementation of the law and allow more time for a deal to be made.
Following Trump’s announcement, TikTok then said that it was in the process of “restoring service”. After taking office on January 20, Trump signed an executive order seeking to delay the ban by 75 days.
President seeks bidding war over the app
Trump added that he would like to see a bidding war over the app. “I like bidding wars because you make your best deals,” Trump told reporters while traveling from Miami to Washington, DC, on Air Force One.
Trump expressed in a recent press briefing his openness to the idea of Tesla CEO Elon Musk or Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison purchasing TikTok. When asked if he would support Musk’s potential acquisition of TikTok, Trump responded affirmatively, saying, “I would be if he wanted to buy it, yes. I’d like Larry to buy it, too.” However, Musk has not yet publicly commented on Trump’s offer.
Read| Musk or Ellison: Who will answer Trump’s call for TikTok?
Microsoft emerges as top bidder in 2020
Trump’s stance on TikTok has notably changed since his first term. Initially, he signed an executive order aiming to ban the app, which was later blocked by a federal court that deemed his actions “arbitrary and capricious.” However, he reversed his stance during his 2024 presidential campaign, pledging to “save” the platform.
In 2020, Microsoft emerged as a top bidder to buy TikTok, but talks soon failed and Trump’s divestment aims ended a few months later when he left office.
