&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'I like TikTok. It helped me with my presidential campaign': US President Donald Trump ahead of deal with China")
US President Donald Trump on Thursday (September 17) during a joint press conference along with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that TikTok helped him in his presidential campaign. He said, “We will speak to President Xi on Friday (September 18) regarding this issue. TikTok helped me a lot with my presidential campaign. I like TikTok, it has tremendous value. I used TikTok very legitimately and it did a good job for me.”
On Tuesday (September 16), President Donald Trump announced that the deadline for TikTok's potential ban in the United States would be extended again, this time until December 2025. He also said that a deal had been reached between the US and China over TikTok, with an ‘American buyer’ set to be revealed soon. The US has long insisted that TikTok's ownership should be transferred to an American company due to concerns over national security.
Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned that Trump was prepared to “let TikTok go dark” while finalising the agreement. Speaking to reporters ahead of his trip to the UK, Trump confirmed that the deal was in place, adding that he would speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, September 19, to finalize the details. "We have a deal on TikTok, I’ve reached an agreement with China, and I’ll be speaking to President Xi on Friday (September 19) to confirm everything," Trump told the press.
This announcement came just one day after Bessent confirmed that a "framework" agreement had been established following two days of discussions with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Madrid. Bessent noted that the Wednesday (September 17), deadline for the TikTok shutdown had prompted the Chinese government to work toward a resolution, with a potential 90-day extension to finalise the deal. If this happens, it would mark the third time the deadline has been pushed back, extending the total delay to 270 days.
While Bessent did not offer further details about the talks, he emphasized that the final agreement would maintain the “Chinese characteristics” of TikTok while addressing US concerns about national security. He also reiterated that Trump was prepared to allow the app to go offline if necessary during the negotiations. This marks the second time this year that both sides have claimed to be on the verge of a deal, following a previous attempt in March that ultimately fell through.
