Former US President Donald Trump has confirmed that Microsoft is currently in talks to acquire TikTok, expressing his desire to see a “bidding war” for the social media platform. When questioned by reporters, Trump responded affirmatively when asked if Microsoft was preparing a bid, adding that there was significant interest in TikTok from various companies.
Both Trump and his successor, Joe Biden, have sought for years to compel ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to divest its US operations, citing national security concerns.
This development comes after Trump signed an executive order last week to delay a ban on TikTok, imposed by the Biden administration. The ban had briefly impacted TikTok’s 170 million US users.
While Trump was the first to push for ByteDance to sell TikTok, in August 2020, ByteDance had initially approached Microsoft as a potential buyer, a move later described by Microsoft’s CEO as “the strangest thing.” However, TikTok ultimately turned to Oracle as a partner, though that deal fell through as well.
Trump has previously stated that he was in talks with several potential buyers and expects to decide TikTok’s future within the next 30 days. A Microsoft spokesperson said the company had no updates on the situation, and the BBC has also reached out to TikTok for comment.
Earlier, Trump spoke at a Republican event in Florida, discussing the possible sale of TikTok. He mentioned, “We’ll see what happens. We’re going to have a lot of people bidding on it.” He added that the goal was to protect jobs and avoid any involvement from China, emphasizing that the US didn’t want China to be part of the deal.
Other prominent figures rumored to be interested in purchasing TikTok include billionaire Frank McCourt, Canadian businessman Kevin O’Leary (a star of “Shark Tank”), and the world’s biggest YouTuber, Jimmy Donaldson (aka MrBeast). Donaldson has publicly stated his interest, claiming that investors have reached out to him following his tweet expressing his desire to get involved in the bid.
