President Donald Trump was clear that if TikTok is once again unable to divest from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, he would extend the sale deadline.
Asked by NBC News’s Kristen Welker whether he would extend the sale deadline of the popular social media platform even further if a deal is still not able to be brokered, Trump flatly stated, “I would.”
“Perhaps I shouldn’t say this, but I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” he added.
Trump’s latest comments about the fate of the social media app follow his executive order on April 4 extending the sale deadline for another 75 days. That came after a deal was nearly finalized between American investors and ByteDance that would allow TikTok to continue operating within the U.S., only for China to abandon the deal after Trump’s hefty “Liberation Day” tariff took effect.
Now, however, that tariff is much higher, at 145%, and it applies to most Chinese imports. But with reports of China quietly easing some of its reciprocal tariffs on U.S. goods, a steep levy may not be a deterrent to accomplishing a deal like it was the last time around.
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Trump suggested this in his comments on Sunday.
“TikTok is — it’s very interesting, but it’ll be protected. It’ll be very strongly protected. But if it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension, might not need it,” he said.