On April 5, President Donald Trump extended the deadline for a TikTok sale to go through before being banned from U.S. app stores. This was the second extension already, and some experts, including “Shark Tank” star and venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary, suggested that there won’t be a third.
They may have been wrong.
Related: What Businesses Can Do Now to Prepare for a Possible TikTok Ban, According to a CEO
In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday, Trump called TikTok “very interesting” and suggested he’d continue issuing extensions until a deal gets done.
In the interview, which was pre-taped on Friday at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said: “Perhaps I shouldn’t say this, but I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok.”
“I’d like to see it done,” he added.
In April 2024, Congress passed a law that gave TikTok until January 19, 2025, to separate from its parent company, China-based ByteDance, or face a ban in U.S. app stores. At the time, lawmakers were concerned about the Chinese government accessing U.S. user data and the spread of Chinese propaganda.
Although a deal has yet to get done, there are numerous interested parties.
Bids have been submitted from Amazon, billionaire and former L.A. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt (who teamed up with O’Leary and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian), AI startup Perplexity, AppLovin, Larry Ellison, and more.
Trump first tried to ban TikTok in 2020, but has since changed his mind. He reiterated to NBC that he has “a little sweet spot in my heart” for the app.
“TikTok is…it’s very interesting, but it will be protected,” Trump told NBC.
When asked if tariffs could be a TikTok bargaining chip, Trump said he would not eliminate tariffs, but suggested that everyone wants to make a deal.
“They want to do business very much,” he said, per Reuters.
The current 90-day extension ends in mid-June.
Related: Dubai Chocolate’s Popularity on TikTok Is Causing a Pistachio Shortage
