It’s the third time the president has pushed the enforcement date, ignoring pressure from lawmakers and legal analysts who insist he lacks the authority to sidestep the law indefinitely. 

The Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, passed in 2024 with bipartisan support, gave ByteDance until January 19, 2025, to either sell TikTok’s U.S. assets or shut down. The Supreme Court upheld the law earlier this year.

Trump, however, has repeatedly refused to act. First in January, then April, and now again in June, he’s granted delays, despite having signed the very law enforcing the sale. 

The latest extension moves the deadline to mid-September, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirming on Tuesday:

“President Trump will sign an additional executive order this week to keep TikTok up and running.”

She added, “President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark. The administration will spend the next three months making sure the sale closes so that Americans can keep using TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure.”

But that “assurance” seems tied to far more than just national security as Trump has made no secret of the app’s value to his political base. TikTok’s influence on young voters during the 2024 election helped energise an important demographic for his campaign. 

Speaking in May, he candidly admitted, “TikTok helped me with young voters.”

Earlier this week aboard Air Force One, he told reporters that he planned to extend the deadline again, “Probably, yeah. Probably have to get China approval but I think we’ll get it. I think President Xi will ultimately approve it.”

A deal to spin off TikTok into a U.S.-based firm, majority-owned by American investors, was reportedly nearing completion earlier this year. But Trump’s abrupt imposition of up to 145% tariffs on Chinese imports in March soured negotiations. China signalled it would block the sale in response.

Now, Trump appears to be using the TikTok ban issue as leverage in ongoing trade discussions. He has implied he might reduce tariffs if Beijing agrees to approve the divestment. 

That makes TikTok not just a social media platform under investigation, but a bargaining chip in one of the world’s most volatile diplomatic relationships.

Democratic lawmakers argue Trump is undermining national security by stalling. Some insist the current offer on the table doesn’t meet the legal standard, and question whether Trump’s personal and political interests are clouding his judgment.

The administration, meanwhile, is caught between conflicting aims; appease China just enough to get the sale done, but not so much that it appears weak. All while keeping 170 million U.S. TikTok users happy.

Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump stressed the overwhelming interest in acquiring the platform. “We have a lot of potential buyers. There’s tremendous interest in TikTok,” he told reporters. “I’d like to see TikTok remain alive.”

ByteDance, under pressure from Washington, must offload the app or risk being shut out of the U.S. market. Lawmakers argue that the company’s Chinese ties are a national security threat, with concerns over data privacy and potential influence operations by Beijing.

A number of U.S. investors have surfaced as interested parties. Blackstone, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, is exploring a minority stake in TikTok’s U.S. business, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. 

The firm is reportedly considering joining Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, two of ByteDance’s existing non-Chinese stakeholders, in injecting fresh capital to secure the deal.

Vice President JD Vance is confident that an agreement will take shape before the deadline. Meanwhile, Trump himself has implied a possible extension if negotiations require more time. 

However, China’s role in the process is still a wildcard. The former president acknowledged that Beijing would need to sign off on the sale, adding, “Maybe I’ll give them a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done.”

Before the current TikTok ban reports in the U.S., bipartisan lawmakers pushed through legislation requiring ByteDance to divest its American business by January 19, 2024, but legal and political delays bought the company additional time. 

Fast forward to the recent case, with the April 5 deadline, Trump is betting on a resolution. “There’ll be a deal with TikTok, I’m pretty certain,” he said.