Trump says U.S. government could buy TikTok
President Donald Trump temporarily delayed enforcement of the U.S. TikTok ban last month, stating that he intended to "negotiate a resolution" preventing the popular video sharing app from exiting the country. Now Trump appears to have revealed at least one plan he's considering — namely, having the U.S. government simply buy TikTok itself. SEE ALSO: As TikTok faces a ban, creators brace for an uncertain future The president called for the establishment of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund in his latest executive order on Monday, directing new Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick to devise a plan for the fund's creation within 90 days. This plan is to include recommendations for "funding mechanisms, investment strategies, fund structure, and a governance model." Much like other investment funds, government-owned funds aim to build wealth for a country by investing in foreign and domestic assets such as stocks, bonds, and real estate. The proceeds are then added to the government's budget. This means that, if a U.S. sovereign wealth fund is created, the federal government may be capable of purchasing a significant stake in TikTok. Will the U.S. buy TikTok? Speaking about his plans for the U.S. sovereign wealth fund, Trump specifically named TikTok as an example of a company it might invest in. The former Biden administration banned TikTok in the U.S. from Feb. 19, alleging that the app is a tool for Chinese surveillance and propaganda. TikTok was thus prohibited from continuing its operations in the country unless its parent company ByteDance sold it to an entity the U.S. deems friendly. Of course, there's no entity more friendly toward the U.S. government than the U.S. government itself. "We're going to be doing something perhaps with TikTok, perhaps not," Trump stated. "If we make the right deal we'll do it, otherwise we won't. But I have the right to do that. And we might put that in the sovereign wealth fund, whatever we make,
Trump says U.S. government could buy TikTok