President Donald Trump announced he would push back the June 19 deadline for ByteDance, the Chinese company behind TikTok, to sell off its U.S. operations, if an agreement isn’t finalized in time.
“I would … I’d like to see it done,” Trump said during an interview for NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker,” which was recorded Friday at Mar-a-Lago and aired nationally on Sunday. He noted his fondness for the platform, crediting it with helping him connect to younger voters during the 2024 campaign. “TikTok is – it’s very interesting, but it will be protected,” he said.
Trump has already postponed enforcement of a congressional mandate banning TikTok in the U.S. on two separate occasions. The original enforcement date was set for January.
Plans had been moving forward to create a separate U.S.-based company for TikTok, with American investors holding a controlling stake. However, the process came to a halt after Beijing signaled its disapproval, which followed Trump’s announcement of sharp tariff increases on Chinese imports.
Democratic senators have questioned Trump’s authority to keep delaying the ban, arguing that any deal currently being negotiated would still fail to meet legal standards.
A person familiar with ByteDance’s American stakeholders said last month that talks around a potential agreement are still underway. However, progress depends on the resolution of tensions between Washington and Beijing over tariffs.
In the NBC interview, Trump said China is eager to come to terms, citing how the steep 145% tariffs he placed on Chinese goods are damaging their economy.
He clarified that while he wouldn’t lift those tariffs just to entice China into a deal, they could be scaled back later as part of a broader trade agreement. “At some point, I’m going to lower them because otherwise, you could never do business with them. And they want to do business very much,” he stated.
The legislation in question required TikTok to cease operating in the U.S. by January 19 unless ByteDance had completed the divestiture. Trump, who began his second presidential term on January 20, opted not to implement the ban. Instead, he delayed the deadline first to early April, and again more recently, to June 19.

{Matzav.com}