TikTok 'Safe for Now,' Trump Claims, But Refuses to Reveal Mystery Buyer for Two Weeks

The popular social media platform TikTok finds itself in an ongoing state of uncertainty following President Donald Trump's assertions.

While he claims the app is 'safe for now' and has identified a group of 'very wealthy people' as potential buyers, he has opted to keep their identities under wraps for the next two weeks.

This latest development comes amidst continued pressure for TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest its US operations or face a ban, raising questions about the app's future in the American market.

The President's Promise: A Buyer Revealed

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that a buyer for TikTok has been found. He stated the purchasers are 'a group of very wealthy people', whose identities he intends to reveal in 'about two weeks' – a timeframe he often favours for such disclosures.

Trump indicated that Chinese approval would 'probably' be necessary for the sale to proceed. Despite this, he appeared to hold firm in his belief that Chinese leader Xi Jinping would lend his support to the acquisition.

Thus far, President Trump has intervened three times to postpone the deadline for TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to secure a new buyer, a failure which would effectively lead to the app ceasing operations in the United States. His executive order, issued on 19 June, pushed the latest deadline to 17 September.

Administration's Goal: Safe and Secure TikTok for Americans

At the time, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the administration's objective was to ensure that American users would continue to have access to the application. 'As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark,' Leavitt said.

'This extension will last 90 days, which the Administration will spend working to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure,' she added.

TikTok initially missed its 19 January deadline and was briefly inaccessible for millions of Americans before President Trump intervened. For those affected, a message on the app read: ' law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now.'

Potential Buyers and Past Interest

Several prominent figures have previously indicated an interest in acquiring the platform, such as 'Shark Tank' personality Kevin O'Leary and former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, AP News reported last year.

Previously, Trump also indicated his support for Elon Musk, a former staunch ally, if he wished to acquire the application.

In January, Musk stated his long-standing opposition to a TikTok ban, believing it 'goes against freedom of speech.' Yet, later that month, the Tesla CEO informed the WELT Economic Summit that he hadn't made an offer for the app. He added, 'I don't have any plans for what would I do if I had TikTok.'

As TikTok's future in the US hangs in the balance, the coming weeks will reveal whether President Trump's promised 'very wealthy' buyers will step forward. For now, millions of American users await the outcome, hoping their beloved app remains 'safe' and accessible.