TikTok will continue operating in the United States for at least another three months after President Donald Trump announced a new 90-day extension for the Chinese-owned app to finalize a sale of its U.S. operations.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Tuesday that Trump will sign an executive order this week, marking the third time the deadline has been pushed since he took office. The move delays enforcement of a bipartisan law passed under President Joe Biden, which required TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. arm or face a nationwide ban over national security concerns.
“President Trump will sign an additional Executive Order this week to keep TikTok up and running,” Leavitt said. “The goal is to ensure the deal gets done and that Americans can keep using TikTok with confidence that their data is secure.”
Speaking to the BBC, Trump defended the delay, suggesting a deal was still possible and would ultimately be approved by China. “I think President Xi will ultimately approve it,” he said. When pressed about the legality of the extension, Trump simply stated, “We do.”
ByteDance and TikTok have not publicly commented on the latest extension. The app briefly went offline during the weekend before Trump’s inauguration but was quickly restored—prompting TikTok to thank the president for “saving the platform.”
Trump’s approach marks a stark reversal from his first term, when he pushed to force a sale of TikTok to Oracle. Now, the president credits the platform with helping him win young voters in the 2024 election. “I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok, because I won youth by 34 points,” he claimed—despite polling data showing stronger support for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris among younger voters.
Oracle remains a leading bidder for TikTok’s U.S. operations, joined by a growing list of suitors including Frank McCourt, Kevin O’Leary, Alexis Ohanian, and YouTube star MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson). Still, any sale must receive approval from Beijing under China’s updated export control laws, a hurdle that continues to complicate negotiations.
Despite these challenges, analysts believe a ban is becoming less likely. “What ban? There is nothing ‘looming’ about the potential TikTok ban anymore,” said Kelsey Chickering, a principal analyst at Forrester. The company’s recent rollout of new AI-powered video tools at the Cannes Lions festival further suggests confidence in its U.S. future.