President Trump makes a major infrastructure announcement on his second day in office.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday repeated his view that the U.S. should own half of TikTok and said he would be in favor of X owner Elon Musk or Oracle founder Larry Ellison purchasing the China-linked social media app.
During his first day in office on Monday, Trump issued an executive order granting TikTok more time to operate and work toward compliance with a law forcing the platform’s Beijing-based owner, ByteDance, to either divest the app to an American buyer or shut the platform down in the U.S.
Elon Musk, right, speaks with President Donald Trump. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Trump was asked during a press conference announcing the massive Stargate AI infrastructure project, involving Oracle, OpenAI and Softbank, whether he would be open to Musk, his close ally, purchasing TikTok.
“I would be if he wanted to buy it, yeah,” the president replied, adding, “I’d like Larry to buy it, too,” nodding toward Ellison, who was present.
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Trump said he met with the current owners of TikTok, and told the press, “I have the right to make a deal. So, the deal I’m thinking about…” then he turned to Ellison and said, “Larry, let’s negotiate in front of the media.”
Oracle founder Larry Ellison, right, listens to President Donald Trump speak in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on Jan. 21, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The president said the deal he is thinking about would involve someone to buy TikTok “and give half to the United States of America, and we’ll give you the permit, and they’ll have a great partner.”
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After explaining the deal, Trump turned back toward Ellison and said, “Sounds reasonable. What do you think?”
Ellison replied, “Sounds like a good deal to me, Mr. President.” Trump then turned back to the press and said of Ellison, “He can afford it, too.”
‘Shark Tank’ investor Kevin O’Leary talks TikTok’s future, the Chinese government’s role with a ‘secret golden share’ and the role Trump could play in keeping the platform available in the U.S.
TikTok shut down its U.S. operations on Saturday, the day before its deadline to shut down in accordance with the law. However, the platform restored U.S. operations on Sunday after Trump provided assurances that he would sign the executive order extending the deadline in order to reach an agreement that protects America’s national security.
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“By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to [stay] up. Without U.S. approval, there is no TikTok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Sunday. “Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase we so choose.”
FOX Business’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
