‘Don’t discount that possibility’: Is Trump buying TikTok?

At the time of this writing, TikTok is set to be banned in the U.S. in just a matter of days. As a result, a multitude of questions are being asked in regards to the app’s ownership, and who exactly could purchase the social platform just in time to save it from being wiped from American citizens.

Ahead of the ever-popular platform potentially being banned by the end of this week, high-profile money-makers and MrBeast have tossed their names in a hat of possible purchasers of TikTok, saving it from being discarded in the U.S. Earlier today, in fact, MrBeast took to X to share a video of himself revealing that he has pushed for an offer to buy TikTok, suggesting that creators behind the app give him “a seat at the table.”

That being said, an even bigger name being suggested would be Donald Trump, the 47th president of the United States and recently-convicted felon, who many believe possesses the ability to buy TikTok and save the app from deletion.

So, could Trump actually buy TikTok?

First off, let’s never say never — especially in regards to both politics and entertainment media. After all, anything is possible in those two fields. That being said, seeing that Trump Media could utilize holdings to purchase TikTok, it’s not necessarily a guarantee that the Cheeto-in-chief can save the popular social app, even though his flip-flopped opinion on the platform as a whole is well-documented.

According to a recent in-depth analysis in The Free Press, Trump’s owned percentage in his media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, could mean that the option to purchase TikTok is very real and very possible, but it’s absolutely not a clear-cut decision to make, especially with Trump’s own personal concerns about the Chinese government and its involvement with the U.S. in the past.

Back in 2020, Trump was actually one of the driving forces of the anti-TikTok movement, believing that the Chinese government was interfering with national security and having far too much of a political and entertainment influence in the U.S. Since then, however, Trump’s opinion of the ByteDance-owned site has softened considerably, with Trump recently revealing that he has “a warm spot” in his heart for TikTok now. Could that have anything to do with the celebrity-turned-president nearly possessing 15 million followers on the app? Well, that’s certainly up for debate.

So, could Trump make an offer to buy TikTok? Well, yes, that’s undoubtedly a possibility, but only time will tell if his opinion on the app has fully changed on a larger scale. After all, those who know and understand how Trump, his ego, and his policies work, the only way he’ll even make an offer for the social site is if he believes it was his idea in the first place. We still have until the end of this week until the Supreme Court makes its decision, but in the meantime, TikTok is receiving plenty of suitors that are looking to save its accessibility in the U.S.