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Trump Plays Banker Role for TikTok—Will Microsoft Bite?

The Information · Martin Peers · last updated

Did we miss the memo that ByteDance has retained Donald Trump to sell TikTok? It’s easy to get that impression, given how enthusiastic he is in talking up TikTok’s salability. He claimed on Monday that “a lot of people” are going to bid on the app, and that Microsoft was already in talks to buy it. Does Microsoft know that?

Maybe Trump is telling the truth about the software giant’s interest. There is a logic to it. Microsoft, of course, negotiated to buy TikTok in 2020, when Trump threatened the app with a ban during his first administration. But unlike then, when Microsoft confirmed its interest, the company is currently refusing to say anything. 

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Related Knowledge Center: The TikTok ban

State of Play

The U.S. Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed into law a measure banning TikTok if it weren’t sold by its Chinese ownership. But now-President Donald Trump gave the service a reprieve, and a sale of its U.S. operations appears imminent.

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