Trump added that other companies were also interested in purchasing TikTok, but wouldn't provide a list.
“I like bidding wars because you make your best deals,” Trump said as he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One while flying back to Washington from Miami, where Republican House members were holding a conference.
Microsoft declined to comment. Representatives for TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In one of his first acts in office last week, Trump extended the deadline for TikTok to find new ownership that satisfies the government by 75 days, to April 4 from January 19.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1400077361/1738183232/articles/i-3m3hMzW1738241529451/lwE6GPM9K1738241772147.jpg]
The president has said that he’s looking for the ultimate purchaser to give the U.S. a 50% stake in the company, which is owned by China-based ByteDance. But the details remain murky, and its unclear whether he’s proposing control of the app by the government or another U.S. entity.
Last week, the artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI presented a new proposal to ByteDance that would allow the U.S. government to own up to 50% of a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikTok’s U.S. business, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Several other investors — including billionaire Frank McCourt and Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — have spoken publicly about their desire to purchase TikTok’s U.S. platform. Trump has also said he’s spoken to “many people” privately about the company.
After the bipartisan law was signed by former President Joe Biden in April, ByteDance said it did not have plans to sell ...