Defying critics, President Trump announced that he has found a buyer for the social media app TikTok.

Trump did not share the buyer's identity but promised to provide details in "about two weeks."

The president dropped the news in a wide-ranging Fox News interview that touched on trade and China, where TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, is based.

Trump teases TikTok buyer

“We have a buyer for TikTok, by the way,” Trump told Maria Bartiromo.

"It’s a group of very wealthy people," he said.

Trump said the deal would need to be approved by China, but he doesn't anticipate any objections from Xi Jinping.

“I think I’ll need probably China approval, and I think President Xi will probably do it,” Trump added.

Ongoing uncertainty

TikTok and its millions of users have faced months of uncertainty after Congress banned the app over its China ties. The law, signed by President Biden, bans TikTok in the U.S. unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, divests from the platform.

Trump has pledged to find a permanent solution to keep TikTok online and safe for users, and he has three times extended the deadline for the ban to be enforced, most recently in June. The current deadline is September 17.

“He’s making an extension so we can get this deal done,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters last month. "It’s wildly popular. He also wants to protect Americans’ data and privacy concerns on this app. And he believes we can do both at the same time.”

TikTok in limbo

Trump's support of TikTok puts him at odds with national security hawks in both parties who say the app puts Americans' data at risk.

While he tried to ban it during his first term, Trump has grown to like TikTok. He admits to having a "warm sport" for the app, whose viral potential he successfully tapped during his 2024 campaign.

“We are grateful for President Trump’s leadership and support in ensuring that TikTok continues to be available for more than 170 million American users and 7.5 million U.S. businesses that rely on the platform as we continue to work with Vice President Vance’s Office,” the company said in a statement last month.

TikTok briefly went offline before Trump's inauguration in January after the Supreme Court upheld Congress' ban. Service was restored after Trump promised to sign an executive order to pause enforcement.

A tentative deal to sell TikTok was in progress in the spring but was derailed by Trump's tariff war with China. The deal would have left ByteDance with a minority stake, which would have satisfied the requirements laid down by Congress.