President Trump is set to sign another executive order this week that will push back the deadline for TikTok’s parent company to sell the popular video-sharing app, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Tuesday.
“As he has stated multiple times, President Trump does not want TikTok to be inaccessible,” Leavitt explained in a statement given to The Hill. “This 90-day extension will be utilized by the Administration to work towards finalizing the deal, ensuring that TikTok remains available to Americans, with their data protected and secure.”
Leavitt’s announcement came shortly after President Trump indicated earlier in the day that he would probably extend the divestment deadline to avoid a U.S. ban on TikTok taking effect.
When asked whether he would give the popular video-sharing platform another extension, the president told reporters aboard Air Force One, “Probably, yeah.”
“Probably have to get China approval, but I think we’ll get it,” Trump said as he traveled back from the Group of Seven summit in Canada. “I think President Xi [Jinping] will ultimately approve it.”
The expected order will mark the third extension from Trump since he took office in January.
The law requiring TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to divest from the platform or face a ban on U.S. networks and app stores was signed by former President Biden last year.
The law initially went into effect on Jan. 19 — the day before Trump was sworn into his second term — causing the platform to go dark for a few hours after the Supreme Court upheld the divest-or-ban law.
But the platform was quickly brought back online after Trump pledged to issue an executive order once back in office to give the company an extension.
The president made good on that promise, giving TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance 75 days beyond the initial January deadline to divest form the platform amid national security concerns.
The White House finalized a deal on TikTok in early April, but it fell apart when Trump announced sweeping new “reciprocal” tariffs, including significant import taxes on Chinese goods.
The president extended the TikTok deadline by another 75 days, which was set to expire on June 19.
Brett Samuels contributed reporting.
