President Donald Trump denies he’s in talks with Oracle to buy TikTok

Donald Trump has insisted he is not in talks with Oracle to buy TikTok.

President Donald Trump is in talks with “numerous, very substantial people” about a TikTok deal – but not Oracle.

The world leader signed an executive order postponing the US ban of the ByteDance-owned video-sharing platform – which came into effect on January 19 – one day after his inauguration on January 21.

And he has said he would like to give the Chinese owners a “permit” to continue operating in the US, but only if it is 50 per cent owned by America.

This has led to much speculation about which US entity could buy TikTok.

A recent report from NPR suggested Trump was talking to cloud computing and database giant Oracle about a takeover, but he has since denied this claim.

Speaking to reporters over the weekend, he said: “No, not with Oracle. Numerous people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying it and I will make that decision probably over the next 30 days. Congress has given 90 days.”

That doesn’t mean Trump wouldn’t like to see Oracle buy TikTok.

He recently told press Oracle CEO Larry Ellison should purchase the 50 per cent, hinting at negotiations.

Trump said: “I would like Larry to buy it.

“Let’s negotiate in front of the media, Larry.”

He also said X and Tesla owner Elon Musk – who is spearheading Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – would be an ideal buyer.

Speaking after announcing a $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure project Stargate, Trump said when asked if he would be open to the billionaire businessman buying TikTok: “I would be, yeah.

“I met with owners of TikTok, the big owners, it’s worthless if it doesn’t get a permit.

“It’s not like you can take the US. The whole thing is worthless. With a permit it’s worth like a trillion dollars.

“So, what I’m thinking saying to somebody is buy it and give half to the United States of America and we’ll give you a permit and they’ll have a great partner, the United States.”

Trump’s administration was given the “next 90 days or so” to make a decision on TikTok’s future.

TikTok – which has refused to sell up and accused the US government of impinging on citizens’ right to free speech with the ban – is back up and running for US users for the time being with its future still in doubt.

However, ByteDance is determined to come to a “long-term solution” with Trump.

The company said: “We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive.

“We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”

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