Trump suggests he will extend deadline for TikTok sale
US President Donald Trump has suggested he will likely extend a deadline for TikTok's Chinese owner to divest the popular video sharing app.
Trump had signed an order in early April to keep TikTok running for another 75 days after a potential deal to sell the app to US owners was put on ice.
"Probably yeah, yeah," he responded when asked by reporters on Air Force One whether the deadline would be extended again.
"Probably have to get China approval but I think we'll get it. I think President Xi will ultimately approve it."
He indicated in an interview last month with NBC that he would be open to pushing back the deadline again.
If announced, it would be the third time Trump has extended the deadline.
The first one was through an executive order on January 20, his first day in office, after the platform went dark briefly when the ban approved by Congress - and upheld by the US Supreme Court - took effect.
The second was in April when White House officials believed they were nearing a deal to spin off TikTok into a new company with US ownership that fell apart after China backed out following Trump's tariff announcement.
It is not clear how many times Trump can - or will - keep extending the ban as the US government continues to try to negotiate a deal for TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
Trump has amassed more than 15 million followers on TikTok since he joined last year, and he has credited the trendsetting platform with helping him gain traction among young voters.
He said in January that he has a "warm spot for TikTok".
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
PM's diplomatic gauntlet continues despite Trump's exit
The prime minister's diplomatic show must go on, even after the departure of its biggest star. Anthony Albanese's highly-anticipated plans to meet Donald Trump during the last day of the G7 summit in Canada were scuppered when the US president announced he would leave the event early due to the escalating situation in the Middle East. But the prime minister can't afford to dwell on the loss as he prepares for talks with other world leaders. Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Japanese President Shigeru Ishiba, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa are scheduled to have formal meetings with Mr Albanese on Tuesday local time (Wednesday AEST). Mr Albanese will also catch up with French President Emmanuel Macron in the margins of the summit after a planned bilateral was cancelled due to a scheduling clash. Before news broke about Mr Trump's unexpected exit, the prime minister said he looked forward to all of his talks. "These meetings I find very useful," he told reporters in Canada. "I developed relationships with people by dealing with them in a straight way and that makes a big difference." However, the US president's absence is expected to haunt the rest of the summit as global economies reckon with the impact of Mr Trump's controversial tariffs. Having already met with leaders including South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, Mr Albanese wasn't the only politician hoping to line up a chat with the leader of the free world. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum was hoping to have her first face-to-face talk with Mr Trump, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also scheduled discussions with the US president. A spokesperson for Mr Albanese said the decision was "understandable" given the escalating tensions between Iran and Israel. The prime minister has said he is "deeply concerned" by the situation and urged all parties to prioritise diplomacy and dialogue. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley agreed Mr Trump's decision to leave was reasonable, but said the government should not have "merely" relied on meeting with the president on the sidelines of the international summit. After the Pentagon launched a review into Australia's nuclear submarine deal with the US and UK, the prime minister had been expected to advocate for AUKUS in his talks with Mr Trump, along with trying to negotiate a tariff exemption on goods exported to America. Australia's exports to the US continue to be hit with a baseline 10 per cent tariff and its steel and aluminium products face 50 per cent levies.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Donald Trump demands Iran 'surrender' and says US won't kill supreme leader 'for now'
Donald Trump has called for Iran's "unconditional surrender" as he warned supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei the US won't kill him "for now". In a series of posts about the Iran-Israel conflict on Truth Social, the US president said "our patience is wearing thin" and told Tehran "we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran". It comes as he joins a meeting of the National Security Council in the White House situation room. "We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding," he said. "He is an easy target, but is safe there - we are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. "But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Mr Trump's posts will heighten speculation about possible US involvement in the conflict. Moments before the president's latest comments, US Vice-President JD Vance said that Mr Trump was prepared to "show restraint". "The president has shown remarkable restraint in keeping our military's focus on protecting our troops and protecting our citizens," he said in a lengthy post on X. "He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment. That decision ultimately belongs to the president." He said "people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement" and criticised the past decades of US foreign policy. "But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue," he added. Meanwhile, Mr Trump signed a joint statement from G7 leaders, in which they called for a "broader de-escalation of hostilities". The US president made a sudden exit from the G7 summit in Canada overnight without putting his name to the statement and there had been speculation he would avoid signing altogether. The statement, which has now been published, was released shortly before Mr Trump departed Kananaskis, Canada for Washington DC. The Washington Post is reporting the language is slightly different to an earlier version seen by the publication - notably, that the final statement omits the line that called for both Iran and Israel "to show restraint". The statement says the leaders "reiterate our commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East". "In this context, we affirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel," it reads. The G7 leaders - representing the US, France, the UK, Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy and the EU more broadly - signed the letter that said "Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror". "We have been consistently clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon," the document reads. The leaders stopped short of calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran but said they "urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza". On Airforce One on his way back to the US capital, Donald Trump spoke to reporters and said he was hoping for something "much bigger" than a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
'Easy target': Donald Trump claims US knows location of Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says he will not be killed 'for now'
President Donald Trump has claimed the United States knows the location of Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but does not want him killed "for now". Iran's Supreme Leader has been in hiding since Israel began its attacks on the country last week. While Israeli and US officials have both been coy on whether that campaign was aimed at bringing an end to Ayatollah Khamenei's regime, the President appeared to all but confirm the objective in a series of posts on his Truth Social account. "We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding," he wrote. "He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. "But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" President Trump had earlier posted: "We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran." His use of "we" was conspicuous given US officials had been at pains to point out the nation was not involved in Israeli strikes on Iran. This is a developing story. More to come.
