I used it myself during the campaign and it worked very well
In a move that blends political calculation with the mechanics of power, Donald Trump signed an executive order this week enabling a consortium of his wealthy allies to acquire TikTok's American operations, delaying a congressionally mandated ban for another 120 days. The platform, which reaches over 170 million Americans, has traveled a long road from Trump's own ban proposals to becoming, in his telling, a tool that helped deliver him electoral victory. What unfolds now is less a story about an app than about the tension between executive ambition and the constitutional boundaries that Congress and the courts have already drawn.
- Trump's fifth delay of TikTok's ban raises urgent questions about whether any law can hold when a president finds it politically inconvenient to enforce it.
- A consortium of Trump-aligned billionaires — Ellison, Murdoch, and Dell — stands to acquire a $14 billion digital empire, blurring the line between governance and reward.
- China, which has historically guarded TikTok as its most powerful global digital asset, has reportedly given only preliminary approval, leaving the deal's foundation uncertain.
- Constitutional scholars warn that Trump's executive order may be legally indefensible, given that Congress passed the divestiture law with bipartisan support and the Supreme Court already upheld it.
- The next 120 days will test whether the courts, the deal's negotiators, or the weight of unanswered national security questions ultimately determine TikTok's fate in America.
Donald Trump signed an executive order this week clearing the way for a group of his wealthy allies to take control of TikTok's American operations, postponing the app's ban for another 120 days. It marks the fifth time enforcement of the divestiture law has been delayed — a law that would have forced Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the platform or face a complete shutdown. TikTok reaches more than 170 million Americans, making it one of the most consequential digital properties in the country.
Trump's relationship with TikTok has shifted dramatically. He once championed banning it, but reversed course during his campaign after recognizing the platform's reach among young voters. He has since credited TikTok with helping him win the election. Now he is facilitating its sale to a consortium that includes Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch of the Fox media empire, and Dell Technologies chief Michael Dell. Vice President J.D. Vance estimated the resulting American company would be valued at roughly $14 billion. Trump claims Chinese President Xi Jinping has given preliminary approval, though China has long resisted relinquishing its most influential global digital asset.
The legal ground beneath this arrangement is unstable. Congress passed the divestiture legislation with rare bipartisan support, and the Supreme Court upheld it. Constitutional experts have noted that a president cannot unilaterally override legislation that has cleared both Congress and the courts — meaning Trump's executive order may itself invite legal challenge. The original national security rationale for the ban, that Beijing could weaponize the platform against American users, has never been supported by concrete public evidence. What is clear is that TikTok has become a political instrument: useful to Trump during his campaign, and now useful as a vehicle for rewarding allies with a stake in a massively valuable company.
Donald Trump signed an executive order this week that clears the way for a group of his wealthy allies to take control of TikTok's American operations, effectively postponing the app's ban for another 120 days. The move marks the fifth delay in enforcing a law that would have forced the Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the platform or face a complete shutdown in the United States. TikTok reaches more than 170 million users in America, making it one of the most consequential digital properties in the country.
The path to this moment has been circuitous. Trump himself originally proposed banning TikTok, but during his recent campaign he reversed course, recognizing that the app had become instrumental in reaching young voters. He credited the platform with helping him win the election and credited right-wing activist Charlie Kirk with encouraging him to use it for spreading his message. "I used it myself during the campaign and it worked very well," Trump said this week. "It's very good and very significant."
What Trump is now facilitating is a sale to a consortium of allied power brokers: Larry Ellison, the Oracle founder and second-richest person in the world; Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan, who control the Fox media empire; and Michael Dell, the technology executive who runs Dell Technologies. Vice President J.D. Vance estimated the resulting American company would be valued at roughly $14 billion. Trump claims that Chinese President Xi Jinping has given preliminary approval to the deal, though China has historically resisted surrendering what amounts to its most influential digital asset globally.
The legal foundation for all this is shakier than the White House may acknowledge. Congress passed legislation last year with unusual bipartisan support requiring ByteDance to divest or face a ban. The Supreme Court upheld the law. Constitutional experts, as reported by The Washington Post, have flagged that a president does not possess the unilateral authority to overturn legislation that has been both passed by Congress and validated by the courts. Trump's executive order, which grants a 120-day window for negotiations to conclude, may itself be vulnerable to legal challenge.
The original rationale for the ban—that the Chinese government could weaponize the platform to spy on or manipulate American users—has never been substantiated with concrete evidence. Washington has made the claim repeatedly, but no proof has been presented. What is clear is that TikTok has become a political tool in Trump's hands, useful during his campaign and now useful as a vehicle for rewarding his associates with a stake in a massively valuable company. The next 120 days will determine whether the deal holds, whether the courts intervene, and whether the constitutional questions raised by legal scholars gain traction in the judiciary.
Notable Quotes
I used it myself during the campaign and it worked very well. It's very good and very significant.— Donald Trump
The resulting American company would have a value of approximately $14 billion— Vice President J.D. Vance
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did Trump reverse his position on banning TikTok so completely?
Because it worked for him. During the campaign, TikTok became his primary way to reach young voters. He saw the numbers, saw the engagement, and decided the app was too valuable to lose. That's not cynicism—that's just how he operates.
But Congress and the Supreme Court already settled this. How can he just postpone the law?
That's the constitutional question nobody has a clean answer to yet. He's betting that 120 days of negotiations will either produce a deal that Congress accepts, or that the courts will move slowly enough that political pressure shifts. It's a gamble.
Who benefits most from this arrangement?
His allies do. Ellison, Murdoch, Dell—they're getting a stake in a $14 billion company. But Trump benefits too. He gets to keep TikTok alive, which keeps young voters happy, and he gets to look like he solved the China problem without actually solving it.
Does Xi Jinping actually want to sell TikTok?
That's the real mystery. Trump says Xi gave the green light, but China has never wanted to surrender this asset. Either Trump is overstating what was agreed to, or something shifted in the negotiations. We won't know until the deal either closes or falls apart.
What happens if the courts block this?
Then you're back to the original law, and TikTok faces a ban. But by then, Trump will have bought time, and the political landscape may have changed. That's the whole point of the delay.