United States President Donald Trump has said Microsoft is among the companies considering buying TikTok so the platform can avoid a ban on national security grounds.
Asked late on Monday if Microsoft was in talks to acquire the popular video-sharing app, Trump said: “I would say yes.”
Trump said there was “great interest in TikTok” but declined to provide a full list of US firms interested in the sale.
“I like bidding wars because you make your best deals,” Trump told reporters while travelling from Miami to Washington, DC, on Air Force One.
Microsoft declined to comment. TikTok did not immediately respond to inquiries.
TikTok briefly went dark in the US on January 18 to comply with a law mandating that Chinese parent company ByteDance divest from the platform or see it banned.
Trump suspended enforcement of the law for 75 days shortly after taking office to give his administration time to find an alternative solution to a ban.
Trump attempted to ban TikTok during his first term in office over alleged national security concerns, but reversed his stance during his 2024 presidential campaign, pledging to “save” the platform.
Former US President Joe Biden signed the law facilitating the ban amid bipartisan concerns that the platform could be used to steal Americans’ personal data and manipulate the public discourse.
Earlier this month, the US Supreme Court voted unanimously to uphold the ban after rejecting arguments that it violated the free speech protections of the US Constitution.
