What just happened? Donald Trump has once again talked about having "a warm spot" in his heart for video-sharing platform TikTok. The president said the app will "be protected," adding that he was willing to give it another extension to allow more time for the sale of its US operations.
At the start of last year, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act was passed, defining TikTok as being a threat to national security and controlled by a foreign adversary – China, in this case.
The bill gave TikTok a deadline of January 20 to sell its US operations or be banned in the US. But Trump signed an executive order when he took office delaying the ban for 75 days into early April. He handed the app another 75-day extension last month, pushing the deadline to June 19.
While that date is still several months away, Trump told NBC News that he was willing to extend the deadline for a third time.
Despite attempting to ban TikTok during his first term, Trump has said he has a soft spot for TikTok because it helped him win the youth vote in last year's elections, something he reiterated in the interview at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
"I have a little sweet spot in my heart because, as you know, I won young people by 36 points," Trump said. "No Republican ever won young people, and I won it by 36 points, and I focused on TikTok. So perhaps I shouldn't say this, but I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok," he added.
Speaking about the potential for another extension, the president said TikTok is "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."
Trump revealed that a deal to sell TikTok's US operations is close and may happen before June 19.
"We actually have a deal," he said. "We have a group of purchasers, very substantial people. They're going to pay a lot of money. It's a good thing for us." He also said the deal would be good for China.
A deal for TikTok had been in the works that would have seen the company's US operations spun off into a new firm based in the United States and majority-owned and operated by US investors. ByteDance and the White House were reportedly finalizing the deal in April, but China said it would not approve anything after Trump introduced 145% tariffs on goods imported from the country.
Trump talked about those tariffs on China during the interview. He said that he would lower them at some point, "otherwise, you could never do business with them. And they want to do business very much." He also said his trade policy had resulted in Apple's $500 billion investment in the US, and praised TSMC for also pledging to invest billions.
Trump offers TikTok another extension on ban, says he has a "warm spot" in his heart for the app
