Trump’s TikTok Buyers Club

Kevin O'Leary
Today, McCourt and O’Leary announced “The People’s Bid for TikTok,” calling it a “a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Americans to reclaim a voice, choice, and stake in the future of the internet.” Photo: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
Tara Palmeri
January 10, 2025

While Washington braces for Inauguration Day, when Donald Trump will take the oath of office on the Capitol steps, Trump himself has become fixated on the day before: January 19, the deadline for TikTok to find a U.S. buyer or face a countrywide ban. Trump, who previously led the charge to ban the app, himself, has recently become enamored with the idea of saving it—preserving a platform that has developed a sizable MAGA-friendly audience and doing a solid for the growing number of friends and allies who have an economic interest in keeping TikTok alive. With the Supreme Court deliberating over the arguments it heard Friday regarding whether to overturn or delay the law—which provides the sitting president with the ability to institute a 90-day freeze if he’s in the process of facilitating a “qualified divestiture”—Trump perceives a golden opportunity to swoop in and consummate the ultimate deal.