Former US President Donald Trump expressed uncertainty about the future of TikTok in America, indicating that China’s role could ultimately determine what happens to the popular video-sharing platform. His comments come just days before the September 17 deadline requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to divest its US operations or face a nationwide ban.
Speaking to reporters in New Jersey before his return to Washington, Trump remarked, “We might let it go, or we might not—I don’t know. It really depends, it’s in China’s hands.”
The deadline for TikTok’s sale has already been postponed three times since January. While several lawmakers continue to raise concerns that the app poses a threat to US national security, Trump has also acknowledged that TikTok played a role in strengthening his connection with younger voters during the last presidential campaign.
Highlighting its influence, Trump stated, “I performed strongly on TikTok. I reached the youth vote and achieved numbers that no one in the Republican Party had ever come close to before.”
He went on to note that some of that momentum came not only from TikTok itself but also from the efforts of conservative figure Charlie Kirk, who was tragically assassinated on September 10 while addressing an audience at Utah Valley University.